Mighty Ducks of America
by Yoroiden
Summary: a girl must fulfill her dreams but her toughest challenge will be to convince her mother to give her the chance to do it. A misunderstood girl, born and raised in a trailer park meets the duck of her dreams, but first she must overcome her past. UPDATED
1. Chapter 1

Courtney Robertson was a thin, eighteen-year-old girl, with wavy brown hair. Her favorite feature about herself was her eyes. She had hazel green eyes that shone magnificently. She plopped herself down into a chair in her kitchen. With all the tests she had been given that day, all she wanted to do was sit back and relax. However, she couldn't. Now, she had to convince her mom to let her play hockey, too!

Courtney had wanted to play ever since her boyfriend, Guy, had asked her to come to one of his games. When Courtney told Guy she was interested in playing, he mentioned that there was an opening spot on the team. There were only two things stopping her: her mom and the fact that she couldn't skate all that well. Learning to skate better would be easy, but persuading her mom to let her play would be tough. Courtney was just starting to unpack her book bag when her mother walked into the room.

"Hello Courtney, how was your day?"

"Uh…. Great mom," Courtney replied, assembling the courage to ask her mom about the team.

"That's great hon. Tell me, how were all those tests today? Oh, Guy called for you a few minutes ago. He wanted to know if you wanted to go to a movie tonight with him and a couple of friends. I told him you'd call him back."

"Thanks mom. So, can I go? I don't have any homework, and it _is_ a weekend," Courtney pleaded.

"Sure," Her mother responded. "But I need to talk to you about something first." Mrs. Robertson spun around and gave her daughter a this-is-serious appearance. "I got a call from someone named Gordon Bombay today. Does that name ring a bell?" Courtney thought for a moment. At first, the name didn't have any significance, but she suddenly remembered that Gordon Bombay was the hockey coach for the Ducks.

Courtney groaned. This was bad! If he called he might've said something to her mom about her wanting to play. However, on the other hand he might've talked her mother into letting her play.

"Well, the name _does_ sound a little familiar to me," Courtney said, quietly.

"Apparently he's the hockey coach for a team called the Ducks. Isn't that the team Guy plays on?" her mother asked, curiously.

"Yes, it is," Courtney replied, quietly.

"He asked me if you would be interested in playing for them. Did you say something to him? Or did Guy mention you might want to play?"

Courtney couldn't believe it! Her mother _still_ didn't know she wanted to play hockey. So she wasn't in any trouble at all! Courtney quickly thought of a reply.

"I was joking around with Guy at one of their games and said it might be cool to play. Maybe Coach Bombay took me seriously."

"Ok," her mother answered. Evidently, this answer seemed good enough for her. She turned back to the dishes she had been doing in the sink. Courtney let out a breath of air that she hadn't realized she'd been holding in.

"But you have to admit, hockey would be fun to play," Courtney uttered. As the words left her mouth, she wished she hadn't said them.

Her mother cringed and circled to face her. "Hockey is very dangerous," she whispered. "You've gotten hurt skating before, imagine what hockey would do to you."

"Mom, Guy plays hockey and he's never gotten seriously hurt," Courtney argued.

"Guy us a good player. There are a lot of hockey players that have been hurt badly."

"Mom, only people in the majors get hurt like that. At this level the worst that could happen is your knee gets scraped! And besides, if you make it to the majors it's no big deal if you get hurt because your body has built up stamina to protect itself!"

"That doesn't even make sense, Courtney! And why are you protecting the sport?"

"I'm not I just think that you don't give hockey players enough credit. And not everyone is half-witted enough to get out there and do something insane! Really Mom, there aren't that many injuries in hockey!" Courtney stormed out of the room.

"Where are you going?" her mother asked, in a more pleasant tone.

"To call Guy!" Courtney shouted.

"It was awful Guy, she'll never let me play," Courtney whined.

"Look, do you think if I talked to her she'd let you?" Guy asked.

"I dunno, Guy. She doesn't seem too thrilled about the game. You should've heard her! You should've seen her reaction to when I said, "You have to admit hockey would be fun," she jumped on me like a pack of wolves does meat!" Courtney was glad that at least Guy understood her. She wondered if everyone on his team was like him. "How many girls are on your team?" she asked, curiously.

"One girl. Poor Connie stuck with all us guys. Do you know her?" Guy asked.

"Connie Moreau?"

"Yeah!" Guy cried. "I can't believe you know her!"

"Yeah, we're lab partners! She never told me she played hockey! Hey, sorry to change the subject, but didn't you wanna go to a movie?" Courtney questioned.

"Oh, yeah. Umm…Connie's going, Charlie's going, Adam's going, Fulton's going, and I think Jesse's going. They're all on the team. Do you know any of 'em?"

"I don't think so. I might know Charlie… So what movie is it anyway?"

"Get ready…I know you wanted to see this…."Darkness Falls!" Isn't that great?"

"AWESOME GUY! That's great! What time?"

"It starts at seven, so we're gonna meet in the snack lobby at six fifteen, that way I can introduce you and stuff, ok?"

"Sure. I'll see ya' later. Bye!" Courtney hung up the phone and laid on her bed thinking. How was she ever going to be able to convince her mother that she wouldn't get hurt? Courtney wanted to play so bad! Moreover, after she met some members of the team, would she want to play _even more?_

At six o'clock, Courtney went downstairs. "Mom, I'm leaving to meet Guy at the movies, ok?"

"Hold on Courtney. How long is it?" Her mother urged.

"I'll probably be back around ten. The movie doesn't start until seven and we'll probably get something to eat after that. Some people from Guy's team are going and yes mom, if I'm out later than I think I will be I'll call you," Courtney went through the routine of questions her mother always wanted answers to.

Courtney's mother always figured that Courtney got around by her bike, and most of the time she did. However, a lot of the time, Courtney just used her sister's old roller blades. Her sister was away at college anyway, how could she use them? Courtney grabbed the neon purple skates from a hiding place in their garage. She quickly tied them and took off.

Courtney got to the theater five minutes later. After all, she only lived three blocks from it. She sat down in the lobby and a few moments later Guy arrived with a tall boy who had sandy hair. He seemed vaguely familiar to her.

"Hey, Courtney. This is Adam Banks," Guy introduced them.

"Hi," Courtney replied, quietly. She felt herself blush and hoped that neither of them would notice. She couldn't help but think that Adam was cute. The three of them began to talk and Courtney's nerves seemed to die away. Next, three boys and Connie showed up. All of them had also skated over. The taller boy with dark hair was Fulton Reed. Guy introduced the second boy as Jesse Hall. Jesse was black and almost as tall as Fulton was. The third boy, who was shorter than the others and had brown hair, was Charlie Conway. Courtney knew Charlie from two years earlier. They had been assigned a project together.

Adam told Courtney all about Fulton's shot as they stood in line for Popcorn.

"It actually went through the net!?" Courtney shouted.

"Yeah!" Adam laughed.

"Whoa! Has he ever been stopped?" Courtney asked, amazed.

"Never! It's amazing!" Adam cried.

"Hey-I've heard you're pretty awesome too! In the paper it said you were the star of the team," Courtney remarked.

"Nah not re-"

"He is…Adam's just too modest," Charlie cut in. "So-do you play?" Charlie asked Courtney.

"Only in school. My mom's not too crazy about hockey, if you know what I mean?" Courtney mumbled.

"Yeah, I understand. My mom didn't want me to play either. I think I bugged her so much she just….gave in!" Charlie replied.

"Hey, what do you want?" Adam asked Courtney. They were up to the cash register already.

"Oh, Whoppers and a Coke." Courtney told the cashier.

"Eight dollars and forty-five cents sir," the Cashier told Adam. Adam started to pull out money from his pocket.

"You don't have to pay for mine. I'll get it," Courtney said politely.

"No. I insist, let me get it," Adam responded.

"No, really I'll get. It's no problem," Courtney began to pull out her money but Adam quickly pushed it back into her pocket.

"Please, let me pay for it. Next time we all get together and go to the movies, _then_ you can pay," Adam exclaimed.

"Fine," Courtney sighed.

All seven of them sat in the very middle of the fourth row. Connie complained that it was too close. Adam and Courtney were happy to sit there. Guy thought it was a great place because you got to hear better and see it better too.

"Think of it this way, Connie. It's a close up!" Charlie remarked.

"Haha, real funny!" Connie replied.

Courtney sat between Guy and Adam. She was particularly fond of this seating arrangement. Jesse started a conversation about the team having an opening and everyone spun to look at Courtney.

"Are you interested in playing?" Fulton asked her.

"Yeah, and Coach Bombay called my mom, but she doesn't want me playing. She says hockey is too dangerous." Courtney mocked.

"Maybe if one us talked to her about it, she'd give in," Connie suggested.

"I wish. It probably wouldn't work, though," Courtney mumbled in reply.

"Well it wouldn't hurt to try. I've seen you play in gym and you're really good. I've seen some of your field hockey games too," Adam persuaded.

"Yeah, come on. It wouldn't hurt to try," Jesse whined.

"Hey, guys, lay off, all right? We're working on it!" Guy exclaimed.

"Oh-shhhh! The movie's starting!" Adam remarked. Everyone got very quiet.

Everything went great during the movie until one of the scariest parts took place. At this point, Courtney made a big mistake. Thankfully, no one noticed, at least she thought no one noticed. As the music introduced the part, a shadow crept up behind the boy when he was left alone in the darkness. Fire swirled around him. Then the shadow grabbed him and the boy let out a spine-tingling cry...and Courtney grabbed Adam's hand.

Adam peered at Courtney through the darkness. Their eyes met at once. Courtney looked away, her hand still tightly in his. She didn't want him to let go. But if Guy saw that they were holding hands, it would destroy him. Although it hurt her, she never let go of Adam's hand during the whole movie. It made her feel safe, secure, and protected in a way she'd never felt with Guy. When the movie was over and the lights flickered back on, Courtney took her hand from Adam's. Guy looked over at Courtney pleased.

"Did you like it?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was great. Way better than I expected. We should go to the movies like this more often," Courtney muttered.

"Is something wrong?" Guy asked her curiously.

"Oh, no. I'm fine. Just a little hungry, that's all," Courtney lied.

"Then let's go eat!" Jesse bellowed.

Finally, everyone agreed on eating at a Taco Bell/Pizza Hut that was just down the road. Courtney skated a little ways behind everyone. It startled her when she looked to her right and saw Charlie gazing at her.

"Hey Charlie, is there something you wanna tell me?" she asked.

"Nah, well…. Sort of. I actually kind of wanna tell you something I saw," Charlie whispered. Oh no! Courtney thought. Did he see? Her body froze instantly. "Courtney-I saw you holding Adam's hand in the Movie Theater. Just tell me if y'all are having some thing behind Guy's back or if-"

"Never! I'm not having some secret relationship behind anyone's back!" Courtney exclaimed.

"Then was it an accident? Because I noticed that you didn't let go the whole time." Charlie remarked.

"It was during the scary part and I just happened to grab whoever's hand was there and I didn't let go because when all the other scary parts came up, I'd already be holding a hand and I wouldn't have to keep grabbing his over and over," Courtney lied.

"That's not the truth, Courtney. Come on, you can tell me if you like Adam. I swear I won't tell anyone else!" Charlie gave her the boy scouts honor sign.

"Okay, I do kind of like Adam," she said as quiet as she could. "But you promised NOT to tell!" Courtney cried.

"Guys what are you talking about?" Fulton shouted back to them.

"Just Mrs. Doughtery!" Charlie lied.

"Oh I hate her!" Fulton replied. "Come on-we're almost there!" Charlie stopped and looked at Courtney "I promise not a word to _anyone_," he said, seriously.

Courtney ended up ordering a bean burrito, no onions, and a chocolate chip cookie dough pie slice. Of course, she also ended up paying for Adam's food. She felt like she had too because he had paid for hers in the theater. Courtney told Guy that she was going to sit with Charlie because she had to talk to him about a problem with a friend. Guy understood and didn't mind. Charlie and Courtney found a booth to themselves and sat down.

"What do I do, Charlie?" Courtney asked, solemnly.

"I really don't know," Charlie told her. "Give it some time. You might just _think_ you like…ya' know…but you really don't. That's all I can tell you,"

"Thanks, Charlie," Courtney replied, depressed.

"Hey, how do you like Mr. Gridfog?" Charlie asked with a grin.

"Umm-No!" Courtney replied. "He gives too much homework. And his name's too weird. Not to mention-"

"He's fat!" Charlie interrupted, laughing

"Yeah I know!" Courtney grinned.

Around nine forty-five Courtney got up to leave. She walked over to Guy's table. "Hey, I've gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"I'm really sorry, but I can't walk you home tonight. I was supposed to be home five minutes ago. I'm really gonna have to work to get back soon. But I hope you had fun?" Guy explained holding her hand. It was the opposite hand from which Adam had held. Courtney felt guilty, but deep inside she also felt excitement. She couldn't understand why.

"I had a great time!" Courtney cried. "Thanks so much Guy." Guy gave her a kiss on the cheek and rushed out the door.

"One of us could walk you home?" Jesse suggested.

"Yeah," Charlie chimed in.

"Sure," Courtney replied. "Do any of you live near Fordisk Drive?"

"Yeah!" Adam shouted. "I live on Hennipen Avenue!"

"Okay, Charlie do you wanna come?" Courtney asked. She thought it might make conversation easier between them. Courtney was afraid if she walked home with Adam alone he would ask her about the movies. It wasn't that she was scared about it, but she wasn't certain what her answer would be.

"No thank you. I've got to get home too," Charlie answered.

"Well then, let's go," Courtney said, nervously.

She and Adam skated out the door and started for their houses, slowly.

It was quiet for the first few seconds, but Adam broke the silence.

"Look, I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable or anything, but I really want to know what happened during the movie," he asked, curiously. Courtney nervously looked around the street trying to avoid the question. She pretended she didn't hear him and kept going.

"Courtney!" Adam practically shouted. He grabbed her arm and she stopped abruptly.

"What?" Courtney asked.

"I said I don't want to make you uncomfortable but I want to know what happened during the movie?" Adam repeated patiently.

"Adam," she sighed. "I really don't know what to tell you. I was scared and I just grabbed someone's hand. It calmed me down a little bit. That's all, though," Courtney whispered.

"Oh," Adam said, disappointed. "So you just grabbed whatever was closest?" Courtney didn't say anything she just shrugged. She wasn't sure why she had grabbed his hand. At that moment, she wasn't too sure of anything. "If you want to, a couple of the guys from the team are getting together tomorrow to play street hockey. Think you can come? I think Guy meant to ask you, but he forgot to," Adam said, changing the subject.

"That'd be great," Courtney replied. Adam was glad to see that Courtney was much happier, now. She didn't seem to feel too uncomfortable around him anymore.

"It was really awesome meeting you," Adam exclaimed.

"Yeah it was cool meeting you too. You have got some awesome team members. I think it'd be so cool to play hockey with you but it'll never happen," Courtney said sadly.

"Sure it will, you'll find someway," Adam responded. Courtney stopped and looked back. She had passed her house!

"Adam, we have to go back a little. I passed my house!" she grinned. Adam doubled over in laughter. Adam and Courtney skated back toward her house. "Thanks for skating with me," Courtney said, feeling herself blush again. Thankfully, it was dark out and he wouldn't be able to tell.

"It was nothing," Adam replied. "Hey-it was nice meeting you," he said as he skated back down the driveway.

"Adam!" Courtney screamed. She jumped back in surprise. Had she just screamed his name? He turned around, surprised.

"Yeah?" he asked, in suspicion.

"I need to tell you something!" Courtney heard herself yell.

"What is it?" he asked, as he skated toward her.

"Thank you," she said, as she hugged him. Courtney wasn't sure what had made her do that. But as she embraced him, he hugged her back. He smelled like a mixture of fruits and cotton candy. As she pulled away, Adam gave her a huge grin, but didn't ask her about why she had hugged him.

Courtney quickly undid her skates and stuffed them in her secret spot. Luckily, her mother didn't notice.

"So did you have fun?" Courtney's mother asked as she walked in the door.

"It was great, mom! I had a lot of fun. After the movie we went to the Taco Bell/Pizza Hut and sat around for a few minutes and just talked." Courtney replied, walking happily up the stairs.

"Who was that that you were with out there? It wasn't Guy," her mother remarked.

"You're right it wasn't. Guy had too rush home, so he couldn't walk home with me. Adam Banks, who's on his team, lives on Hennipen Avenue so he walked me home instead." Courtney hummed. Mrs. Robertson smiled at her daughter. Obviously, she had had a wonderful evening.

"So is he nice?" She asked. Courtney turned to her mother.

"Of course he's nice. If he wasn't, he wouldn't have walked me home!" Courtney laughed.

"I guess you're right. Well, I'm going to bed. Don't stay up too late!" As Courtney's mother started to retreat to her bedroom, there was a light tapping on the door. Courtney slowly opened it. It was Adam.

"Hi," she said, surprised. "What do you need?" she asked. She was going to say 'what are you doing here?', but decided that 'what do you need?' sounded a lot nicer.

"You left your jacket," Adam responded, handing her the green, purple, and silver jacket.

"Thank you!" Courtney cried. That was her favorite jacket and she couldn't understand how she could've left it anywhere.

"You're welcome," Adam said, spinning around to leave. Courtney thought for a moment. Her mother wouldn't be in bed yet. It would be perfect.

"Adam, would you like to come in? Or do you need to get home?" Courtney questioned.

"Thank you. No, I don't have to be home until eleven," Adam replied.

"Mother! I want you to meet one of Guy's teammates!" Courtney yelled to her mother. Mrs. Robertson, who wasn't ready for bed yet, walked into entrance hall. She smiled at Adam.

"Hello," she greeted him. She noted that it was the same boy who had walked her daughter home. "You must be Adam," she cried, cheerfully. "Would you like something to drink?"

"That would be nice, thank you very much," Adam responded, accepting her invitation. They moved to the living room and sat down on the couch.

"Do you like playing hockey?" was the first thing Mrs. Robertson asked.

"Oh-yes I do very much, ma'am. We have a great coach too, he makes everything fun for us," Adam said, slowly.

"Good. Have you ever gotten hurt playing?" Mrs. Robertson asked, stiffly.

"Once, and that was because the other team was a cheating team who wanted to get back at me because I had to switch teams. They didn't have a very coach, either. I just injured my head a little," Adam exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head, remembering his injury. Courtney's mother looked at her daughter with a defiant grin. Great, Courtney thought. Someone got hurt; there goes my chance. Courtney's mother talked to Adam for about thirty more minutes when he finally had to leave.

"Thank you very much Mrs. Robertson," he smiled. "Oh… if you would, uh, our team is getting together tomorrow to just hang out, do you think it'd be all right with you if Courtney came along? Guy wanted me to ask," Adam smiled at Courtney. They both knew it was a lie, but Courtney's mother fell for it.

"Of course she can go. What time?" Mrs. Robertson asked.

"Two o'clock sharp," Adam replied. Mrs. Robertson nodded and headed back in and left Courtney and Adam alone.

"Smooth," Courtney said, impressed.

"Thank you," Adam said, bowing.

"Well…it's late. I'll see ya' tomorrow!" Courtney told him as he left her driveway.

Courtney was too excited about the next day. She had never really played street hockey before. She just hoped that she didn't get hurt. Then she would have to admit to her mother that she had played. She wasn't too worried, though. She was an excellent roller bladder, but not too efficient on the ice. Eventually, Courtney fell into a peaceful sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Courtney didn't sleep peacefully for long. She woke up, frequently, from the same dream over and over. She dreamed that her mother allowed her to play hockey, but came to the game with a gun. For a very strange reason, her mother always shot Adam during halftime. Courtney couldn't grasp what the dream meant. All she could get from it was the feeling of loss after Adam had been shot. Around seven forty-five, Courtney just got up and stayed up.

Mrs. Robertson trudged down the stairs to see her daughter gazing mindlessly at the television screen. She blocked Courtney's view and snapped it off. "Courtney, why don't you go outside for awhile?" Her mother sighed.

"I'll be outside later, remember?" Courtney whined. Mrs. Robertson stared at her daughter. "Fine," she eventually mumbled. Courtney switched the TV back on just as the phone rang. Courtney reluctantly got up to answer it.

"Hello?" she asked, politely.

"Hey, Courtney," It was Guy. Courtney got a very uneasy feeling in her stomach. She was expecting the worse. She knew she could trust Charlie with her secret, and Guy had nothing to be suspicious about, but suppose he did know? He could just be calling about later today? Yeah, that's it, Courtney thought.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked, calmly.

"Just watching some TV. Listen, is your mom near you?"

"No, she's in the kitchen," Courtney replied.

"Okay, Adam told me he told your mom about today, well, sort of told her about today. I wanted to tell you that you don't have to bring gear, Connie's got some extra gear. I knew you couldn't sneak it out of your house so I asked her if you could borrow it. What time did Adam tell you?" Guy asked.

"Two o'clock, but where? Adam might've told me or not." Courtney whispered into the phone. She didn't want her mom hearing. She listened for any type of movement in the kitchen. She heard her mother clanking plates around.

"Um...we're gonna play at the court near where Jesse lives."

"Guy, in case you forgot, I don't know where Jesse lives!" Courtney snapped, sarcastically.

"Oh-sorry, I forgot. Do you know where Glaze Road is?" Guy questioned.

"Yeah, I do. Thanks. So, is your whole team gonna be there?"

"Everyone but Fulton," Guy responded. "He can't go because he has to help his mom with some things around the house. In other words spring cleaning," Guy moaned

"Oh no! My mom will want me to help her as soon as I get home!" Courtney whined.

"My mom too. Oh man! I gotta go, I've got to help my little brother get dressed!" Guy whined. "Well, see ya' later today!"

"Okay, bye," Courtney laughed.

Courtney stepped out into her backyard. It was such a beautiful day. It wasn't too hot and it wasn't too cold. She ran up to her room and picked out a pair of white shorts and a tight blue tank top. She hurried back outside and laid down a blanket. She stared up at the cloudless blue sky above her. She wished there were at least a few clouds so that she could make shapes out of them. She was almost asleep when her mother called for her from the house. She sat up and stared through the screen door. "What do you need?" she asked.

"The phone is for you!" her mother yelled to her. Courtney hadn't even heard the phone ring. She had gotten caught in the silence around her; thinking about situations she had been through in life and the problem that she now faced.

Courtney pulled herself from her thoughts and ran into the house to grab the portable phone. "Hello?" she asked, curiously.

"Hi, Courtney? This is Connie. What are you doing?" She asked, hurriedly.

"Not much. What about you?" Courtney replied.

"Um…. Same. I was thinking, do you wanna come over? Until around 1:30, I mean. 'Cause remember the team was going to get together and-"

"Yeah, I remember. Let me see if it's cool with my mom," Courtney exclaimed.

Mrs. Robertson was cleaning out the hallway closet. Oh no! Courtney thought. She'll want me to help clean! "Mom," Courtney said sweetly.

"Yes?" she mother responded her head still in the closet.

"That's Connie on the phone, she wants to know if I can come over, then we can go over to Jesse's house with the rest of the team?" Courtney mumbled.

"Sure dear, how long will you be at Jesse's?" she asked. I dunno. How bout I call you around 4:45 and see, okay?" Courtney asked.

"That's good," her mother replied. Courtney rushed back to the phone.

"Hey, Connie, it's cool with her, so I'll see you in a couple of minutes?" Courtney exclaimed.

"Yeah, awesome!" Connie said.

Once again, Courtney pulled out her sister's skates and rushed to put them on. She quickly skated out of her mother's sight, down the driveway right into Charlie.

"Oomph!" Charlie squealed. She had knocked him down in her hurry.

"Oh my gosh!" she cried. She helped Charlie up and was glad to see that he was okay.

"I am so sorry!" she shouted.

"No, it's okay. I'm fine." Charlie insisted. "So where are you going?" he asked. Courtney looked down at her skates. For a brief moment, she had forgotten that she was going anywhere. "Oh, just over to Connie's, then we're gonna go over to Jesse's," she sighed. "Sorry for leaving you with Adam last night, but I really had to get home," Charlie apologized. At the sound of Adam's name, her stomach did a flip. "It's okay. I understand," Courtney mumbled.

"It wasn't too awkward, was it?" Charlie asked, half-afraid of the answer.

"No, not really. It was actually okay," Courtney told him about it on the way to Connie's.

When they arrived at Connie's house, the three of them just sat around in the air-conditioning watching TV. Connie's mom was very nice and made them Ice Cream sundaes and brought each of them fresh lemonade. At 1:45, they all got up, reluctantly, from sitting in front of the air-conditioning and the TV. "I actually don't wanna go," Charlie whined. "It's too hot out there."

"Come on, Charlie, don't be a baby," Courtney teased.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm goin'," Charlie muttered.

Connie and Courtney practically had to push Charlie out of the door. He was very stubborn. Finally, Charlie left with them. Connie and Charlie promised that Courtney would love the rest of them team. Her nerves returned, just as they had at the movies the previous night. She kept glancing nervously at the two of them. What if the rest of the team didn't like her? What if they thought she was too much of a girlie girl and that was the real reason she didn't play?

Courtney nervously skated behind Charlie and Connie when they got to Jesse's house. There was a group of people in a huge circle in the driveway that she had never seen before. None of them had been at the movies, except Jesse.

"Hey," he greeted her. "Glad you could come. Wasn't sure if your mom would let you,"

"My mom doesn't know I'm here to play to hockey, she just knows that I'm with your team," Courtney grinned. The group behind Jesse stared at Courtney, apprehensively.

"Oh," Jesse yelled. "This is Dwayne Robertson," Jesse said, pointing to a tall boy with reddish hair.

"Howdy," Dwayne said back. Courtney nodded her head in a way to say hello back. Charlie gave Courtney a weird look.

"No relation," Courtney stated, confirming Charlie's thoughts. Jesse went down the line introducing everyone.

"Greg Goldberg, Les Averman, Ken Wu, Luis Mendoza, and Russ Tyler." They all nodded to Courtney.

"Hey Jesse! I wanna play too!" A small boy shouted from the garage.

"Oh yeah, and this is my little bro, Terry, he's not on the team, though." Terry grinned up at Courtney.

"Hi," she said sweetly. Terry grinned and hid his face behind Jesse.

"Where are Adam, Guy, and Fulton?" Charlie asked.

"Well, there's Adam, Guy's gonna be a little late, he got stuck helping his mom with cleaning, and Fulton has to clean all day," Jesse laughed.

"What's so funny?" Adam asked, as he skated up to Jesse.

"Nothin' Cake-eater, lets play some puck!" Jesse bellowed.

Everyone skated to the court that was just down the road. Jesse's dad followed to be a referee. They split up into teams and Courtney was put playing against Adam for the face off. She groaned.

"Just try your hardest. Don't go easy on him, okay? If you try harder and beat him, he might like you more than if you just give him the puck, got it?" Charlie whispered to her. She nodded. Jesse's dad dropped the puck and Courtney and Adam both dived for it. She felt victory as she swept the puck right out from Adam's feet. She passed it to Dwayne, who played around with it a little bit, and then passed it back to Courtney, who shot it right through Goldberg's fingers. Her team cheered and even people from the other team gave her high fives. "Now that's what I'm talking bout!" Charlie yelled to her from the sides. She was proud of herself and couldn't help grinning.

Once again they all lined up, but Adam got possession of the puck. Courtney raced down the side of the court trying to catch up. Averman swooped in from the left, but wasn't able to get the puck. Finally, Adam shot. SCORE! Now the other side cheered. The game went on like that. The score ended up being Courtney's team 5 and Adam's team 4. At the end of the game, Courtney was too happy to realize how tired she was. She didn't realize until the end of the game that Guy never showed up. Must have had to stay all day, she decided.

Everyone congratulated Courtney on how well she had played. Courtney was just glad that she hadn't messed up. After everyone had left, Mr. Hall strolled up to her.

"That was some great playing, Courtney," Jesse's dad grinned.

"Thank you, sir. I sure had a lot of fun out there. That usually makes you play better. If you have fun doing something, then you're going to do well at it," Courtney exclaimed.

"Those are some very wise words, Courtney. If you enjoy playing so much, how come you don't play on a team?" Mr. Hall asked, curiously.

"My mom," Courtney grumbled in reply.

"What about her? He asked.

"She doesn't like the idea of me playing hockey," Courtney shrugged. Mr. Hall nodded.

"I understand," he whispered to himself, as he walked away.

Courtney hurried to catch up with everyone.

"Hey, Charlie!" she screamed. Charlie turned to see who had called his name. He stopped and waited for her to catch up.

"Yeah?" he asked. Charlie grinned at her from underneath his helmet. He was proud of her. She played like a real duck.

"How did I do?" Courtney asked.

"You did great," Charlie shouted. "It's too bad you can't play."

"Yeah, I know," She mumbled. "I didn't let Adam get the puck."

"I know. You did really great today, Courtney," Charlie said seriously.

"Charlie," Courtney hesitated. "Is it bad that I didn't even realize that Guy wasn't here, and I didn't miss him?" Charlie looked at her, surprised. He had realized Guy wasn't there from the beginning. He didn't want to make her feel bad, so he lied.

"No, you just had other things to on your mind. Don't let that bother you," Courtney smiled.

"Thanks!" she replied.

Jesse invited everyone inside for a drink. At four forty-five, Courtney called her mother. She asked her mom if she could stay until eight o'clock because they were all going to watch a few movies at Jesse's. Her mother said yes. Before she hung up, Courtney's mother reminded her that her father would be home in a few weeks and to not forget a welcome home present. She agreed to go shopping with her mom the next day. Courtney decided anything was better than cleaning the house.

Everyone gathered around in sofas, armchairs, or on the floor in Jesse's den. Courtney got a very comfortable space on the couch. Connie was on one side and Averman on the other. Courtney got to know Averman a little better and enjoyed his comments throughout the movies, though everyone else found it annoying. Averman was a tall, skinny boy with red hair and glasses. When Connie had to leave early, Dwayne took her spot. Courtney didn't know whether to be happy about this or not. Dwayne seemed like more of the quiet type. However, she was wrong. Averman started to talk about an old western movie he had seen and that got Dwayne going. After that, no one could get him to shut up! Courtney found it enjoyable to just listen to the conversations around her. Sometimes, questions would come up for her, but not very often.

After the first movie, "Pleasantville", was over, Courtney went to the kitchen to get more chips. Of course, she had only gotten up after Averman and Dwayne had _promised_ to keep her seat. Jesse was also in the kitchen.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey. Just getting some more chips," Courtney replied.

"What about your seat?" Jesse asked.

"They promised to keep it for me."

"They won't. They never do. But hey, it's my house and I'll make 'em move!" Jesse laughed. Courtney stared down at the bag of chips she held in her hand. These people, that she didn't even know, were so kind to her. Here she was in _their_ house, eating _their_ food, sitting on _their_ couch, and watching _their_ movies.

"Jesse, thanks for everything. All of you guys are great," Courtney whispered. "I mean, I don't even know you that well and you treat me like I'm one of you!"

"Well, you may not be on our team, but you've got the heart of a duck, so it's kind of like you are one of us," Jesse explained. "Okay, now I've got a question for ya'. Do you like Charlie or somethin'?"

"What!?" Courtney shouted. "Charlie and I are just really good friends. Where did you ever get an idea like that?"

"Well, it seems like you're always talking with him."

"I do talk to him a lot, but that's because I can trust him with things, ya' know?"

"Yeah, I get it. So-can you trust me?" he asked.

"I guess. Why?" she asked, curiously.

"No reason," he answered.

Courtney walked back into the den and found that her spot on the couch was still there. She wondered if everyone else considered her as one of them just like Jesse. As she sat down, Averman called to Adam, who was sitting with his legs over the arms of a chair.

"Banks, wanna switch? I can't see over here."

"That's what glasses are for," Luis said, sarcastically.

"I know, but I need a new prescription," Averman snapped.

"Okay, I'll switch with you," Adam responded. Averman quickly got up and switched with Adam. As he did so, Ken grabbed a pillow that was near him and threw it at his head. Perfect aim. The pillow hit Averman's head with a soft _plump! _

"Hey!" Dwayne shouted. He picked up his pillow and through it at Ken. Charlie gave Dwayne a dirty look and picked up his pillow. He threw it at Dwayne, but missed.

"Charlie!" Courtney shouted. She picked up her pillow and slammed it against Charlie's head. Then, Jesse threw a pillow at her, which resulted in Adam throwing a pillow at him. In less than a minute, feathers were flying everywhere. Everyone was laughing so hard people were gasping for air.

At the end of "The Sixth Sense", Courtney started on her way to the door. Everyone told her good-bye and that they hoped they would see her again soon. Adam met her at the door and sat down beside her as she put on her skates.

"I'm really sorry about last night. I shouldn't have pressured you into telling me anything. I'm very sorry if I made you feel weird around me. I hope we can still be friends?"

"Of course we can Adam!" she shouted in disbelief. "You did make me feel a little uncomfortable at first last night, but I got over it. We're cool." she hesitated a moment. She wasn't sure what she should say next. "But let's keep what happened just between us, okay? Oh, but Charlie knows, he saw it," Courtney apologized.

"Actually, I figured he knew anyway. He has this weird way of knowing things like that," Adam shrugged. He and Courtney sat in silence, neither of them knowing what to say next.

"Beautiful sunset, isn't it?" Courtney asked, looking for anything to talk about.

"Yeah. My dad and I used to watch it a lot together. Then he got a new job that required more time. So, he's not home a lot. Most of the time it's just my mom and I," Adam replied, quietly.

"Me too. My dad's away on business right now. So it's just my mom and I." Courtney agreed. "Hey, what's your IM or your phone number and I'll call you later," Courtney suggested.

"Oh, hold on." Courtney waited on the front porch while Adam went to look for pen and paper inside. Despite the warmth of the day, she shivered. There was something special about Adam. However, there was also something special about Guy. She could either keeping denying her feelings for Adam, or choose one.

"Maybe Charlie's right. I'll give it a few days," she muttered to herself.

"Here you go," Adam announced, handing her the paper. Courtney held onto the paper, folding the edges and not really concentrating on what it said.

"I've got to get going. I'll see ya' later," Courtney said as she left Jesse's house.

Courtney didn't actually look at the paper until she was getting ready for bed later that evening. "379-2813," she read aloud. It was very similar to hers.

"379-2876," she read her phone number aloud too. Then, she concentrated on his screen name. "Hockey_shooter_01," she whispered. She loved it. She said to herself all night long. Her mother must have thought she was crazy.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Courtney's mother woke her up early and they spent the majority of the morning looking for the perfect gift for her father. She didn't understand why they had to look for a gift so many weeks in advance. They went from store to store and ate lunch at Cheers.

When they finally got home it was around seven o'clock. Courtney collapsed on the sofa.

"Honey, can you check and see if we have any messages?" Mrs. Robertson yelled from the laundry room. Courtney turned her head. The small red light was blinking twice.

"Two messages, mom!" Courtney shouted. "Do you want me to listen to them?"

"Yes," her mother replied. Courtney slowly got up and pressed the playback button.

"Hi Courtney, I was just wondering if you wanted to do something today. Call me later. Bye!" The first message was from Connie. The answering machine made its usual noises and went on to the second message.

"Hello, Mrs. Robertson. This is Mr. Hall, Jesse's father. If you would, please call me back at 379-6824. Thank you. Have a nice day!" Courtney was horrified. Had she done something to offend Mr. Hall? Had she not acted in a way that pleased him? He didn't sound upset. She wasn't worried about him saying anything about the hockey game since he understood the situation with her mother.

"Who were they from?" Mrs. Robertson shouted. Courtney thought about erasing the messages. But just as she was getting ready to press the erase button, her mother came down the stairs. "Who were they from?" she repeated.

"Just listen," Courtney said. She took a few steps slowly back toward the sofa. Her mother listened to the two messages and began to pick up the phone.

"Did you leave something at Jesse's house?" her mother asked her, before she began to dial. She hadn't thought of that.

"Maybe I did. I'm not sure," Courtney heard herself reply.

Mrs. Robertson walked into the living room and dialed the Hall's phone number. Courtney, however, quickly ran up to her bedroom and picked up the phone listening. That's what she loved about her phone. She could have it on speakerphone listening to someone's conversation and they'd never know it.

"Hello, this is Mrs. Robertson. May I please speak with Mr. Hall?" she heard her mother ask.

"Yes, hold on just one second." Courtney recognized the voice as Jesse. A few moments later, she heard Mr. Hall come to the phone.

"Hello, Mrs. Robertson?"

"Yes," Mrs. Robertson responded.

"I'm glad you returned my call. I wanted to talk to you about Courtney." Those few words had a big impact on Courtney. They sent a shiver down her spine.

"Okay," Mrs. Robertson sighed.

"Your daughter has major potential. And I realize you are her mother and I can't tell you how to raise your daughter, but please ma'am, you are keeping her from something she really wants to do and something she succeeds in." Mr. Hall said slowly, pronouncing each syllable of each word. Courtney had a big grin on her face. She respected Mr. Hall for standing up for her. But she wasn't sure how her mother would react. Her mother didn't say anything for awhile.

"What are you talking about?" Mrs. Robertson asked, curiously.

"_Hockey, _Mrs. Robertson_...Hockey," _Courtney was grinning so broadly that her face hurt. "You should see your daughter while she plays. I've never seen a happier person in my life. When she skates, it's like she's gliding, not even touching the ground. She has such control over the puck. She can score and she can sure as heck go for the gold, ma'am. Now, you just have to let her. Let her do what she loves. You should have seen her. She was amazing. When I asked her why she didn't play, she said you didn't like the idea of hockey."

"That's true. I don't like the idea of my daughter playing hockey. Where did you see her play?" Mrs. Robertson asked, calmly. Courtney noted that her mother was not speaking in an anger tone, which she was glad of.

"I saw her play at my house. When the team got together this weekend, they decided to play. They pressured her into playing although she didn't want to because she didn't want to go against you." Mr. Hall exclaimed. _All right!_ _A guy who won't tell my mom when I'm going against her!_ Courtney thought.

"Well, I am glad that she respects her mother's decisions. Mr. Hall, what is your objective from this conversation?" Mrs. Robertson asked quietly.

"Well, let me ask you this. Do you want to keep your daughter from doing something she loves?"

"No, I don't."

"Then, my objective is for you to let your daughter play hockey for the team, just like she wants too," Mr. Hall said defiantly. Courtney heard her mother sigh. She held her breath waiting for the phrase that would decide her fate. Come on, mom! Courtney screamed silently. Courtney just barely stopped herself from screaming, "Hurry it up already!"

"Mr. Hall, I appreciate you calling." Courtney slumped onto her bed. It didn't sound like her mother was going to say yes. Courtney began to cry a little. "And I would like to say that you are correct. If Courtney wants to play that bad, then she should. Thank you, I will have a talk with her tonight." Courtney bolted up. Her mother had just said yes! She couldn't believe it! She had to call Adam, she had to call Guy, and she had to call everyone else!

Courtney didn't wait to hear the end of their conversation. She hung up the phone and held in a scream. She sat on her bed waiting for her mother to knock on the door. A few seconds later, she heard footsteps outside her door, then a knock.

"Come in," she said as calmly as possible. Mrs. Robertson opened the door and smiled.

"I know you were listening and I thought you might want to know…. We have a meeting with your coach tomorrow afternoon at five o'clock." Courtney jumped up and screamed. She hugged her mother tightly.

"Thank you so much!" she cried.

The next afternoon at school, word had spread to everyone on the team that they had a new player. Some didn't know it was Courtney. She took that as an invitation to mess with their heads a little. Adam walked up to Courtney after gym class was over. Remarkably, he even smelled good after PE!

"I heard Jesse's dad talked to your mom and now you're on the team," Adam smiled.

"Well, you heard right, because he did and she did and I am," Courtney was trying to confuse Adam, but apparently he understood.

"That's great! Have you told Guy? I bet he already knows, though. So will you be at practice today?" Adam asked, sincerely. Courtney's stomach turned to butterflies.

"Adam, I have something to tell you. I can't ice skate that well. Actually, I can't really ice skate at all. I'm fine with roller blades on, just not ice skates. Do you think you could help me?" she whispered.

"Hey, we had a problem like this with one of the guys on our team. I bet you wouldn't even believe me if I told you who it was," Adam grinned.

"Who?"

"Fulton." He was right, Courtney couldn't believe that he had trouble skating, not with his moves or his shot.

"Well, what did you do about it?" she asked.

"We taught him how to skate, that's what we did. And we'll teach you too,"

Adam and Courtney walked down the hallway to their Chemistry class. As soon as Courtney stepped into the room, Connie bombarded her.

"Another girl! This will be awesome!" Connie shrieked. Connie was hugging Courtney so tightly she could hardly breathe.

"Connie," she choked. "Please, can you let go a little?" she panted. Connie let go immediately.

"Sorry, but I am so excited. We are going to have so much fun!"

At lunch, Charlie sat beside Courtney.

"I'm glad you're playing on our team," he said. Courtney smiled. Charlie had no idea how happy she was.

"I know! Isn't it great?" she exclaimed. Courtney caught sight of Guy and yelled for him to come over. He stumbled through the crowd to her table. Apparently, he had heard the news. This was turning out to be one of the best days of Courtney's life.

"I can't believe your mom changed her mind! Although, I have to admit, Mr. Hall _is_ very persuasive," he grinned.

"Well, obviously he is if he got my mom to change her mind," Courtney remarked.

"I heard you did really good at Jesse's house. Too bad I couldn't have been there for it. I got stuck with helping my mom clean all day," Guy apologized.

"I understand," Courtney replied. She still didn't feel right about not even realizing her boyfriend hadn't been there. Courtney picked up her sandwich and took a bite. It just wasn't right. You're supposed to realize when someone isn't there that you really care about, she thought. But Charlie's right, I was just occupied, she thought to herself.

"I've gotta go now. I'll see you in math," Guy whispered. He kissed her on the cheek and she waved good-bye to him as he hurried to catch up to his class. Courtney hated that they had to sit with their class for lunch. It wasn't that she didn't like her class, she just wished she could sit with Guy.

"Courtney, are you worried about something?" Charlie asked her, curiously. Courtney stared at Charlie. How was it that he was almost always right?

"Yeah," she whispered. "I still can't understand how I couldn't have realized that Guy wasn't there!" she shouted.

"It's not that bad. I told you, you were just busy thinking about other things," Charlie murmured. Courtney mumbled in agreement.

After school that day, Courtney's, mother picked her up to bring her to the Ice Rink. Courtney was shaking as she entered the doors. Her mother looked at her, nervously. She's as nervous as I am, Courtney thought. As they made their way to Coach Bombay's office, neither spoke a word. On the very end of the hall to the left, there was a small room that they entered.

"Hello, Coach Bombay?" Mrs. Robertson asked quietly. A man turned around from his desk.

"Yes," he confirmed. He was a skinny man with brown hair that was down to his ears, though not covering them. He looked to be a very laid back, fun-loving coach.

"I'm Mrs. Robertson and this is my daughter, Courtney," her mother said as she pushed her forward. Courtney shook Coach Bombay's hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said to her.

"Thank you. The pleasure is all mine," Courtney responded, politely. Her mother smiled, fondly, at her.

"I've heard a lot about you. Mr. Hall talked to me, Charlie talked to me, Adam talked to me, Guy talked to me, Connie talked to me, Dwayne talked to me, and the list goes on. I've had almost every single one of my players in here about you." Courtney was stunned. She didn't know what to say. Instead, her mother spoke.

"Yes, Mr. Hall is the one that got her in here. He sure is a very persuading man. So, please tell me about the protective gear that she will need," Mrs. Robertson replied.

"Well, she will need shin pads, elbow pads. Shoulder pads, neck protector, pants, and skates." Coach Bombay went through the list. Courtney was thrilled! Halfway through the meeting, Coach Bombay suggested that Courtney go out on the ice with the team. Her heart raced.

"Okay," she stuttered. She guessed her mother hadn't told him she couldn't ice skate.

Luckily for her, Charlie, Adam, and Guy were waiting for her.

"Adam told me you're havin' some trouble with ice skating," Guy remarked with a grin.

"Yeah, I guess so," Courtney barely whispered. Her throat felt dry and scratchy.

"That's why we're here. We're gonna help you. Charlie, I want you to hold her left hand, Adam her right. Then, help her out onto the ice," Guy instructed.

Guy picked out a size of skates for her and she was able to tie them. Courtney felt that her legs wouldn't be able to support her. She felt as if they would give way any moment. She didn't want that to happen and look like a fool when she was sprawled across the ice like an unwanted bug. Charlie nervously took hold of her hand. Courtney took a deep breath as Charlie and Adam pushed her onto the ice. She glided slowly toward Guy.

"Good," Guy whispered to her, supportingly. This was easier than she thought it would be. She gave Charlie a goofy grin.

"I'm doing it!" she shrieked. He nodded in agreement. After about ten minutes of Charlie and Adam holding onto her and bringing her around the rink, they let go. Courtney was terrified. She felt out of control. She felt like someone jumping out of a plane with no parachute. She hastily looked around for someone or something to grasp onto. However, none of the three would allow her to hold onto them. Eventually, Courtney got the hang of it. She could freely skate around the perimeter of the rink and not hold on to anyone or fall. She also achieved being able to skate in the middle. She was afraid of the middle at first. It was so open. There was nothing to help break a fall there. Nevertheless, when Charlie threatened to tell Guy about her and Adam, she quickly skated out to center ice and did a full circle of it.

Adam, Charlie, and Guy whooped and hollered as their star-pupil skated off the ice over to them. Adam caught sight of Mrs. Robertson and Coach Bombay emerging from his office.

"She can skate!" he hollered. Coach Bombay looked up and grinned at his new player. He was amazed. The three boys had been on the ice with Courtney for half an hour and they had her skating already?!

"Great job guys!" he replied. He turned back to Mrs. Robertson. "If you'll excuse me, I've got to tend to my team. They should be arriving in about fifteen minutes. Practice will be over at Eight fifteen. If you would like to stay, please feel welcome to. If not, I understand," Coach Bombay explained. Mrs. Robertson's eyes shifted from her daughter, who was now laughing with the three boys on the ice, and Gordon Bombay. She shifted her weight. She didn't want to leave her daughter her alone during her first practice, but she had errands to run.

"I'll pick her up at Eight fifteen. I have things I need to do at home," she said, softly.


	4. Chapter 4

"Okay team!" Coach Bombay shouted in the locker room. The kids were hyped and ready to go. "As most of you have already heard, we have new player! A lot of you know her too! This is Courtney Robertson, she will be filling in for the open spot!" He looked at his team. Only a few were actually paying attention. He looked at Courtney and shrugged. "Okay, get outta here! Go get on the ice!" He shouted, playfully.

The first thing they did was sprint from side to side. Then, Courtney was partners with Connie for a passing drill. At around six forty-five, Coach Bombay chose two captains for a scrimmage: Courtney and Charlie. Each one chose their players wisely. Courtney ended up with Jesse, Adam, Connie, Guy, and Averman. Charlie got Dwayne, Ken, Fulton, Goldberg, and Russ. The Coach made Luis a referee since the teams would be uneven if he played. Courtney heard him tell Russ that it was a relief that he didn't have to play because his ankle had been hurting badly for the last week.

Mrs. Robertson was back at the rink at exactly Eight fifteen. She wasn't going to take any chances with her daughter. Courtney was in the team locker room getting ready to leave. She and Connie sat and talked for awhile. The thought that her mother would be waiting in the parking lot didn't occur. After about thirty minutes, Mrs. Robertson hastily got out of her car and ran inside. Horrible scenarios ran through her head like a horror movie. As she rounded the corner, she ran straight into Gordon Bombay

"Where's Courtney?" she asked, half-afraid of the answer. Coach Bombay looked at her, confused.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Mrs. Robertson was annoyed with him.

"I've been waiting for thirty minutes out in my car for my daughter. Where is she!?" she screamed.

"She may still be in the locker room," Coach Bombay said, quietly. "It's just around the corner there," he pointed out. Mrs. Robertson nodded her head and quickly walked to the door at which he had pointed.

She opened the door slowly and saw Courtney sitting on a small bench.

"Where have you been!" she shouted in anger. Courtney looked up in surprise. Courtney glanced down at her watch. She groaned.

"I'm sorry mom! I didn't notice the time. I was talking to Connie about how great tonight was," Courtney said quietly, "And that I have such a great mom," she added. Courtney looked up at her mother, who was standing with her hands on her hips. Fortunately, she wasn't angry.

"I'm glad you had a good time, but how about next time you have practice, you be out in the parking lot at, oh, I dunno...eight thirty. How's that?" Mrs. Robertson smiled. Courtney grinned too.

"Thanks mom. That'd be great. Connie, I'll call you later," Courtney got up and left with her mother.

Courtney went through the week happily and couldn't wait for hockey practice that weekend. However, Courtney had mixed feelings about Adam all week too. Every time she was around him, she felt great, like everything was right. But when she was near him with Guy, she felt like everything was wrong in her life. She gave up on determining what her feelings meant and devoted her time to improving her skating.

Saturday morning, Courtney rushed into the rink, already ten minutes late for practice. She flew in the locker room, put on her skates and pads and hurried out to Coach Bombay.

"I'm so sorry, coach. Our car wouldn't start this morning," she apologized.

"I know how that can be. I've had many days where my car wouldn't start. Don't sweat it, just get out there," he grinned. Courtney let out a sigh and glided over to Connie.

Courtney was confused when Coach Bombay told them to take off their gear and come back to the ice with just their skates. She and Guy slowly got up and started for the locker room.

"He does this every once in awhile. Nothin' bad, though. Listen, do you wanna do somethin' today? I mean, later today?" Guy asked, shyly. Courtney nodded.

"That'd be great. Where did you wanna go? A movie? Dinner? Just someplace?"

"Just somewhere, ya' know. Maybe with a couple of friends or just us."

"Where did you have in mind?" Courtney asked him.

"Well, I was thinking maybe we could go to a movie. But just us...I haven't had much time to talk to you alone. Better yet, you could watch a movie at my house. You know I've got those doors you can shut to the den. Then we could watch the movie privately," Guy explained.

"Just give me a time and movie and I will be there," Courtney smirked.

Courtney quickly got out of her gear and raced back to the ice, where Charlie was waiting. She smiled as she skated to him. He didn't smile back.

"Uh...hi Charlie. Is somethin' the matter?" she asked.

"You didn't tell him about Adam, did you?" he asked, accusingly.

"I can't tell him! What, do you want me to break up with him for Adam?" She whispered, angrily. He looked at her, suppressing his anger. He shook his head, obviously disappointed.

"How long are you going to pretend that you have no feelings for Adam? They're not gonna go away! You can't keep ignoring them like this! You know you're going to have to break up with Guy. Those feelings will make you!" He shouted to her. Luckily, no one was around to hear him. Courtney felt herself blush. Charlie had never been angry with her before. She had no reply because she knew he was right. She stared at him, defeated. She was just about to ask when she should tell Guy, but Coach Bombay and the rest of the team walked out onto the ice.

"Okay team! I've got awesome news for you!" Bombay shouted, excitedly. "You're goin' on a trip! You will be representing the United States in the Junior Goodwill games in Los Angeles! I will be calling your parents and we will have a meeting next week. Since you will be away from your homes and schools we will have a tutor travelling with us as well as a trainer who will take care of injuries and they will be someone you can just talk to, kind of like a counselor. Do you guys have any questions?" He explained, out of breath. Fulton's hand shot into the air.

"Yeah?" Bombay asked.

"Will we be staying on the oceanfront?" he asked. All of the boys agreed with a soft, murmuring "Yeah."

"No, you'll be staying in the UCLA dorms," Coach Bombay answered.

"OH!" Jesse screeched. Waving his hand, madly.

"Yeah?"

"Will we be allowed on the beaches? And, will we be allowed to...ahem...conversate with the...college ladies?" He asked, slyly.

"What's wrong with the ladies you got now? You'll be allowed on the beaches. But try and stay away from the college ladies," Coach Bombay laughed, "anymore questions?" Courtney waved her hand. He nodded to her.

"How much will the trip cost or will everything be paid for?" Coach Bombay smiled proudly at her. He nodded his head.

"That's a very good question. You will not pay anything, our sponsor, Hendrix Hockey Apparel, will be paying for it all." Everyone cheered, excitedly. "One more thing, we will be getting a new player by the name of Dean Portman, from Chicago, Illinois. I dunno if any of you know him. Uh...for today's practice, you guys can just...skate around, ya' know, have a little fun! Beach balls or whatever you guys wanna play around with are in the closet. I'll be in my office if you have any questions."

Everyone got up and went separate ways. Guy and Courtney skated around the rink a few times holding hands.

"I wonder if Dean Portman is any good," Courtney said thoughtfully.

"The name sounds vaguely familiar to me. I think I saw something about him on the news awhile ago. He's supposed to be really good," Guy stated. Courtney nodded in agreement. Courtney suggested that they go play keep away with a beach ball and Guy agreed that it might be fun. When Guy was busy talking with Goldberg, Courtney took the opportunity to talk with Charlie. Courtney's voice shook as she began to speak.

"I decided that...well...I-I-I'm gonna…uh...w-well...ahem... break up with Guy. You were right. I have this really guilty feeling inside." Charlie smiled, knowing that he was right. Charlie didn't answer for a while. He just stood there with his arms crossed across his chest. Courtney hung her head. Charlie eventually cracked into a smile and hugged her.

"I'm proud. Go tell Adam," Charlie whispered.

Courtney slowly skated to Adam. She came to a sudden stop in front of him.

"Adam, do you think we could talk? Umm...alone?" she asked, noticing Fulton edging in trying to listen.

"Sure. What's on your mind?" he asked, pulling her towards the bathroom. Courtney was shivering as if she was cold, but she knew otherwise.

"I've decided that I'm going to break up with Guy and tell him that I have feelings for you." Courtney looked up to see his reaction. He looked stunned, but impressed. He patted her on the shoulder gently.

"Good luck. I hope he doesn't take it hard," Adam said, quietly.

That night when Guy called Courtney, she agreed to watch a movie over at his house. Guy looked nervous as he answered the door. She made sure to say that she had something very important to tell him. Courtney tried to use the right words.

"I've had some of the best times of my life with you, Guy," she started. He quickly sat down on the sofa with a frown, "but I can't pretend that I don't have feelings for Adam. Guy, I think, for now, that we should just be really good friends. Is that okay?" Courtney waited for a reply. When she didn't get one, she started to pick up her coat.

"I understand. I think you're right. All the time that you've been trying to deny your feelings, I've been doing the same," Guy said. Courtney sighed and turned around. She threw her coat back to the corner.

"Then I guess you know what I've been going through!" she exclaimed. She was relieved that he felt the same way and wouldn't hold a grudge.

"Yeah, I know. I have feelings for Connie. So, I think we both were going to do the same thing tonight. I was going to try and tell you about my feelings for Connie, but when you started talking, I thought you were gonna say something different. But, I'm glad that we agree," Guy smiled. Courtney returned the smile and sat down on the couch to watch a movie.

When Courtney got home that night, she explained to her mother that she and Guy had broken up because they didn't feel the same way anymore. Courtney didn't tell her mother about Adam. Before heading up to her room, Courtney shouted to her mother that she needed to attend the meeting about the Junior Goodwill Games. Apparently, Mrs. Robertson wasn't too fond of those words.

"Aren't those in California?" she asked uneasily.

"Yeah," Courtney gave her mother a slight smile. "Is that a bad thing?" Mrs. Robertson stared at Courtney.

"I don't want you going. It's too far from home." Courtney was astonished.

"Mom! That's not fair! The rest of the team gets to go!" Courtney stormed up to her room.

"Courtney! Get down here!" Mrs. Robertson shouted. However, her daughter was already up stairs with her door locked.

As soon as Courtney made sure her door was locked, she picked up her neon purple phone and dialed Adam's number for the first time. On the third ring, Adam picked up.

"Adam here." Courtney loved his greeting. He must have his own phone line, or caller-id, Courtney decided.

"Adam, it's Courtney," she said nervously.

"Hi, Courtney," Adam replied, "how did Guy take the news?"

"He took it pretty well considering the fact that he was going through the same thing. He liked Connie," Courtney explained.

"Oh," Adam responded, "so what are you doing now? Do you wanna go to the Eden Hall game Wednesday night? My mom got tickets 'cause she thought I'd be interested. And I am, but it'd be more fun with another person. And I was kind of hoping that that other person would be you?" Adam explained.

"That would be awesome! Um...are your parents letting you go to California?"

"My mom didn't exactly want me to go at first, but I got the coach to talk to her and she says I can go now. Why, are you having a problem with your mom?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, she says it's too far away from home." Courtney whined.

"Is your dad's name Daniel by any chance?" Adam asked excited.

"Yeah, that's his name. How'd you know?" Courtney asked curiously.

"Well, we got a letter from my dad today and it mentioned a Daniel Robertson. He says they've become really good buddies."

"Really? Is your dad cool with you going?" Courtney asked, suddenly having an idea.

"Yeah, my mom talked to him and he said it's a very good opportunity," Adam said proudly.

"Then maybe my dad will say the same!" Courtney shouted, "I'll call you back later, okay?"

"That's fine," Adam said quietly, "please call me back!"

Courtney ran downstairs to her mother. Just as she thought, her mother was sitting in a chair with a letter folded up.

"Is that from dad?" Courtney asked curiously.

"Yes," her mother replied. Mrs. Robertson stood up. "Listen, honey, I may have over reacted before. I think you should be able to attend the Junior Goodwill Games with your teammates. If you have the talent, you should be able to show that to the world. Your father also says it's a wonderful learning experience and once in a lifetime chance. So, if he's okay with it, I'm okay with it too." Courtney smiled happily. She hugged her mother tightly.

"Your father also mentioned someone named Phil Banks. Is that Adam's father?" Mrs. Robertson asked curiously.

"Yeah, mom. I was just talking to Adam and his father mentioned dad in his letter too." Mrs. Robertson nodded her head.

"Well, I will attend the meeting. Just tell me when it is,"

"The coach said he'll call and give us the time and place," Courtney yawned. "I'm gonna get up to bed. See ya' in the morning!' As Courtney walked up the stairs, Mrs. Robertson smiled at the thought of her daughter being in the spotlight.

Courtney walked into school the next morning to find Connie waiting by her locker. She had a frown on her face.

"What's wrong?" Courtney asked.

"I know you probably won't believe me, but please do! Last night, Guy called me. He asked me out," Connie stared at Courtney waiting for her to start screaming, but when she Courtney acted like it was no big deal, she was astounded.

"Okay." Courtney replied as she took her books out of her locker. Connie's jaw dropped.

"That's all you can say? You're boyfriend's cheating on you and all you can say is 'okay'?" Courtney snickered. Of course, Connie didn't know yet!

"Connie...last night I told Guy I didn't have the same feelings for him as I used to. He told me that he had liked someone else for awhile now, too. So, did you tell him yes?"

"No, I told him I'd have to get back to him. I felt like telling him off, but boy am I glad I didn't now!" Connie laughed.

When Courtney got home that night she told her mother the meeting was scheduled for later that night. Mrs. Robertson nodded and quickly made dinner.

"Now honey, I don't want you to feel pressured, okay? You go out there and have fun!" her mother smiled.

"Thanks mom. I will go out there and have fun. If it wasn't for you...I wouldn't have this chance," Courtney remarked.

Courtney and her mother scrambled into their car. A few minutes later, they pulled up in front of the school. Courtney saw Jesse getting out of his car and yelled to him.

"Hey!" Jesse shouted, "Wait up!"

"Hello, Mr. Hall! So, we meet again. Thank you again for your phone call. You were absolutely correct," Mrs. Robertson greeted Jesse's father.

"I am glad to be of help to you. But the look on your daughter's face told me how much she was enjoying being out there. I had to call you."

Coach Bombay greeted them as they walked through the wide double doors. The chattering of people filled the foyer. Courtney and Jesse were well ahead of their parents. They spotted people from the team and the kids all got together in another room to talk about the trip.

"I can't wait!" Goldberg shouted. "Think about all the girls on the beach!" Jesse stood up.

"The Coach is right. What's wrong with the girls we got now?" Jesse winked at Courtney and Connie. They laughed.

"Who cares. Think about all the guys, Courtney! Tons of them in Speedo's! Can you imagine?" Connie sighed.

"Hey, you already got a man, Connie!" Goldberg shouted. "Leave us single men out of your daydream."

"Do we even have any single girls in here?" Dwayne asked, staring straight ahead at Courtney. Courtney wasn't sure if she and Adam were considered boyfriend and girlfriend or not. She pretended she didn't hear the question and Dwayne didn't bring it up again. Everyone mainly talked about what they planned on doing while they were there and some people talked about their new player, Dean Portman.

Soon enough, everyone's parents came to retrieve their kids.

"You leave in a week. Do you think you can be ready by then?" Courtney's mother laughed in the car.

"I was born ready!" she smiled.


	5. Chapter 5

Courtney was happy to hear when her mother approved of her going to the Eden Hall hockey game with Adam. Courtney was waiting out on the porch with her mother when Adam's mother pulled up. Adam scrambled out to meet her.

"Hello, Adam," Mrs. Robertson smiled. Adam nodded his head and turned to Courtney.

"Ready?" he asked. Courtney nodded.

"Bye, mom!" She yelled.

The stands were crowded with fans wearing red and black. Their seats were right in the center. With the face off, Eden Hall got the puck. They dominated the game after that point. Courtney hoped who ever they played wasn't that good, but Adam assured her that the Ducks would be able to beat a team like that any day. At the end of the second period, Courtney and Adam went to get Salted Pretzels. Courtney felt squished as she made her way through the mass of people. The game ended all too soon for Courtney, with the Eden Hall Warrior's beating the Northern Academy Wildcats six to zero. However, the ride home seemed much too short as well. Courtney slowly got of the car, hoping to buy time with Adam. Courtney gave Adam a brief hug good-bye while his mother was busy messing with something on the dashboard.

"I'll see you soon," he whispered. Courtney smiled and waved as they pulled out from her driveway. Her mother opened the door and called out to her.

"How was it?" she asked.

"Great," Courtney sighed. Mrs. Robertson figured her daughter had had enough fun for one night and let her go to bed.

Outside of the Chicago to Denver, Colorado gate lounge Dean Portman; a tall dark brown almost black haired boy that looked to be near nineteen years old and was listening to his iPod while he waited for his plane to board. His music was so loud that he didn't even notice that an attractive young woman about eighteen years old was strolling up to him, she had medium length brown hair that fell to her shoulder blades and brown eyes. She wore a faded and ripped pair of blue jeans, black and white high tops, a white Sister Hazel shirt and black hooded sweat shirt.

"Hey is anyone sitting here?" the girl asked. Dean motioned for her to sit down. He couldn't help but think that this girl was extremely attractive.

"Hi," said Dean in a welcoming tone. "Portman, Dean Portman. What's yours?"

"Mitchell, Joann Mitchell. But you can call me Jo; everyone else does," answered Jo. "Where are you headed?"

"Well I'm headed to L.A for the Jr. Goodwill Games. How about you?"

"Remarkably, the same place, I have family down in L.A that I'm trying to track down. Where are you sitting? I'm in row A, seat one" Jo smiled.

"A2. Well, this is starting to get weird. What sports do you play?"

"Who said I play sports?" Jo joked. "Ice hockey, when I can, and street hockey. And what about you?"

"I'm all about ice hockey. I played in Chicago and I'm chosen to be on Team USA for the Junior Goodwill Games. This year it's gonna be USA getting the gold," Dean cheered.

"You play well. I watched all the games in Chicago on the TV." Just then the loud speaker announced that the flight to Los Angeles was starting to board. Dean and Jo came up to the entry ramp and walked down the ramp together. They entered the plane and took their seats and waited for it too take off. Once the plane was in flight the pilot turned on the walk about sign. Dean tried to start another conversation.

"So where are you from?" asked Dean.

"Chicago but I'm moving to Minneapolis, Minnesota to live with my dad. I've lived on the street or in a foster home for just about my whole life but about a year ago I got a call saying someone might want to adopt me and that's why I'm going to Minnesota. What kind of music are you into?"

"Nirvana and stuff like that. You?"

"About the same I guess?"

"How long have you played hockey?" asked Dean.

"I played street hockey a lot when I was a kid but then they kicked me off because they said I was_ too _violent when I played. So I tried ice hockey and the same thing happened, except they didn't kick me off the team. They kicked some other guy off I think it was…" Jo paused, "I can't remember. Oh well. Hey do you know the names of some of your new team members? I might know some of them."

"No sorry. My coach and some guy named Tibbles didn't tell me much only that I had to go to L.A. in a few weeks. Nothin' about the new players or coach."

"They didn't even tell you who your new coach is? Man, that's bogus." For the rest of the flight they sat in total silence until it was about time to land. "Well I wish you luck in the games, try not to get hurt too bad."

"Thanks. Hey, do you mind if I tag along with you until I gotta catch my next plane? Who knows, maybe we'll be on the same one again," joked Portman, he really liked her company and wanted to learn more about her.

"Sure, why not," smiled Jo. They walked down the ramp to the lounge. After about fifteen minutes, they sat down in a pair of seats that gave them a decent view of the crowd. They waited until the entire crowd had gone to wherever they were going. Jo stood up and stretched, the three-hour layover was not agreeing with her. She looked over her shoulder at Dean, "Hungry?"

"Starving," Dean laughed as he stood up and walked side by side with Jo to look for something to eat.

"Yay for over priced food," Jo smirked sarcastically as she continued to devour her tacos.

"Gotta love it," Dean agreed as he ate his burrito. "So what's your seat number? I got C1."

"It's C2. This is getting weird, we have a lot in common, sat next to each other on the last plane, and now it's the same thing on this one, not that it's a bad thing. Actually, I'm pretty glad it turned out this way," answered Jo with a smile. They took seats by the entry door so they could get on the plain once it started boarding.

The announcement came over the loud speaker that the plane was now boarding. Jo and Portman stood up. "Come on, we better get on the plane before they leave us behind," Dean gave Jo a smile that made her want to melt.


	6. Chapter 6

The plane was larger then the one before, which did not do much since it was twice as crowded.

"Do you have someone you can stay with while you are tracking down your family?" Dean asked, somewhat nervously.

"Well not exactly but I'll be fine. Cheap motels aren't as bad as people make them out to be," Jo joked, avoiding the question.

"So that would be a 'no'?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, that would be a 'no'," Jo sighed.

"Well then, come stay with me. There's a hotel room waiting for me until the team arrives and after that we are staying in some dorms, there will be plenty of room for you," Dean assured.

"Ok fine, I'll stay with you. I wish I knew some of the people on your team, I might have been able to give you some info on them," Jo mused, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, me too but all I know is that I'm the only one from my team in Chicago which really sucks," answered Portman. Jo sat in silence thinking what her feelings for Portman where _"Do I like him as a friend?"_ or _"Should I ask him out"_ or _"I only just met him I barely know any thing about him and I feel like I've known him for a long time"_

All these thoughts rolled around her head wondering for the right answer. Jo finally decided to ask him out once they knew each other a little better. Most of all she was afraid of what Portman's feelings for her were. She decided that that wasn't important at the moment and the important thing was to get to LA and find her family. _"I guess I'll see what happens when it happens." _Jo thought.

They were both silent the whole flight thinking about things they didn't want to tell each other at the moment. Portman mostly thought out game plans to use during the competition and what his feelings for Jo were and wondered what her feelings for him were. Jo mostly thought of songs that she knew for her to perform out on the street to earn money and her feelings for Portman and what his feelings for her were. Once the plane landed, Jo followed Portman out of the plane and into the lounge. Someone who worked with the committee greeted them and told them that he would be taking them to a hotel for them to stay at. They followed the guide to a van that was waiting just outside of the airport.

"We will load your luggage into the car so you don't have to worry about that," said the guide. They got into the car and drove to a fairly decent hotel room. "You will be moving in with your new teammates once they arrive. So this room is not the room you will be staying in while you are performing in the Junior Goodwill Games. We did not receive word that two of the players were coming early," said the guide staring at Jo and finally taking notice of her.

"She's with me, she's my little sister. Our parents had to go on a trip to Australia, so I had to bring her," Portman lied quickly not wanting Jo to get in trouble and then sent back to Chicago.

"All right, but she is in your charge and you must be responsible for her," answered the guide who obviously didn't want to be there with them. The guide left and Jo and Portman thought it would be a good time to do some late night walking on the beach and stretch their legs since they had been in a plain for countless hours, it was already nine ten, with no stop to refuel the plane. They left the hotel and decided to roller blade to the beach to get there quicker. On the way there, they passed a group of kids playing street hockey and decided to watch them for a little while. Much to Portman's surprise they were actually pretty good. Once the game ended Jo and Portman bladed to the beach. They reached the beach at around ten fifteen. They took off their blades and walked on the beach bare foot letting the waves lap against their feet. By the time they had finished their walk it was five past midnight.

"It's late and I'm drained," said Jo. "Do you want to head back to the hotel room?"

"We could or we could rest here for awhile. I brought a blanket in my backpack, since it was so late and I didn't know how tired you were," answered Portman.

"Um…okay that sounds pretty good," said Jo a little unsure not wanting to take their friendship too far too fast. Portman unzipped his backpack and brought out two medium sized blankets. "You brought those from the hotel room didn't you!?" Jo asked smiling with amusement.

"Yeah kind of, is there a problem with that?" asked Portman.

"No," answered Jo laughing. "Its just really funny. I don't know why though." Portman saw her point and started to laugh so hard that he almost fell over his backpack. Once they decided that the joke wasn't funny anymore they both sat on each blanket just looking out at the ocean. About half an hour later, Portman felt something brush against him. It was Jo who had fallen asleep. He decided not to fall asleep since he felt that someone should watch out for her and himself to make sure nothing happened to him or her.

The next morning Portman woke with a start _"I must have fallen asleep"_ he thought. The first thing he did was look to his side for Jo; thankfully she was still there sleeping on the blanket next to his. Dean leaned over to kiss her cheek thinking that it was the farthest he should go for now. He was relieved that she had not woken up after he had kissed her fearing that would end their friendship. He stood up and walked two or three yards toward the ocean and gazed at the sunrise for a while. Suddenly he noticed that someone was holding his hand and kissing him on the cheek. He looked over to his left slightly surprised but at the same time not to see Jo standing right next to him. They didn't have to tell each other but they both knew that they felt something for the other. They decided that they should go ahead and get back to the hotel room to get into some new clothes. They packed up and bladed back to the hotel room hand in hand.

Once they got back, Dean went to the buffet table to get them some breakfast while Jo went up to the room to take a shower. By the time Jo got out of the shower and got dressed Dean already had breakfast ready and was sitting on the bed with the sports channel on. She took parts of the breakfast he had brought up and sat next to him. The first thing she did was watch the hockey channel with him to see if she could figure out any thing about the Junior Goodwill Games and about the different teams competing in it.

"I already know that you can roller blade but can you still ice skate?" asked Dean. "Cause I was thinking you could help me practice. If you wanted to."

"Sure, why not I haven't skated for awhile though but I think I still have it in me. Hey, why don't we try to find those street players we saw last night," answered Jo. "Then you could get some extra practice in. What do you say?"

"Sure, but do you have gear or skates?" asked Dean.

"Come on, do you really think I'm that stupid?" asked Jo. "I'm moving to Minneapolis, Minnesota and hockey is a big thing there and its always cold. I don't think I would have forgotten skates or blades. But gear is another problem. I haven't been on a hockey team since I quit the one in Chicago and I sort of grew out of all of my gear."

"Yeah, I guess your right. So when do you want to head out of here?" asked Dean. "It will take us some time to find those skaters from last night." Jo headed out of the room and rushed out of the hotel with Dean following her, they wanted to find those skaters before they where tired from a hockey game. Thankfully they found them before they had divided into teams.

"Hey Dean you do know that there's an odd number so one of us is going to be referee. So you go and play and tell them I'll play ref. besides I'm not the one who needs practice," said Jo. Dean nodded and went up to the guy that looked like the on in charge.

"Hey do you mind if I play it would give me some practice for the Junior Goodwill Games?" Dean asked the kid whose name was James. "My friend said she will be ref if you guys use 'em."

"Sure, you can play, one of our guys is sick and we needed another player. Go tell your friend that we could use a ref," answered James. Dean skated over to Jo and told her the news. She nodded and took her spot on the sidelines while Dean went to the group.

They picked out the two captains. Dean was picked to be on James' team. He obviously wanted to see what moves and shots Dean had. Dean was going to be their enforcer, which he was all too happy to object since he was the enforcer for every team he had ever played on.

The game started and Dean bashed into people like a charging bull. Most of the other team had started to moan and grumble after half way through the second period. James called a time out and gave instructions to every one.

"Portman slow down a bit on the hitting. There already banged up pretty bad so you don't have to hit them so hard any more."

"No problem," answered Dean. The final period ended with a great end. Dean's team won, Jo had thought they would have with Dean being their enforcer. Dean told the whole team that he hoped that they would meet again.

He and Jo went to the basketball court by the beach and Dean shot pucks through the net, which happened to be a garbage can. Jo would snatch it and throw it back to him so he could try again. Next, they tried a one-on-one game that Dean easily won. By the time practice was over it were already a quarter to one and they both decided they should go and get something to eat.

They bladed to a hot dog stand by the beach and took seats on a bench by the walkway. Once they finished lunch they decided that they should go back to the hotel room to rest and so Jo could get her guitar so she could show these people what she was made of later on in the day. Once they rested and got her guitar they went to Westwood, a place where many shops and restaurants were open all day and students from the near by college came to shop and eat. Jo had never performed with out the rest of the band but they were all back in Chicago and she knew that they would never be able to pay for the trip _she_ hadn't even paid for her plain ticket the adoption agency had paid for the whole trip. She was just about to open her guitar case when her cell phone rang.

"Hello?" said Jo.

"Guess who this is?" Came a familiar voice.

"Oh my gosh is that really you? Evan," asked Jo slightly aggravated.

"Yeah, that's me and the rest of the band. You remember us Jean, Kris, and me," said Evan.

"Hey, Jo how's it hanging?" asked Jean. Evan had just given him the phone.

"How have you been? Gotten any of those good looking Minnesota boys yet?" asked Kris. Jean had just passed it over to her or rather Kris snatched it from him.

"No, better I'm in LA and got myself a hockey player from Chicago," answered Jo.

"I hate you Jo." Just then there came a sound that resembled a bunch of people pushing and shoving trying to be heard. "I'm putting Evan on. Okay, bye," replied Kris hurriedly.

"Hey, remember me? Your old partner in crime," asked Evan.

"I'm tryin' to forget about those days if you didn't know," answered Jo irritably. She didn't like to be reminded of her childhood.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," apologized Evan. "So how's life treating' you?"

"Okay, I guess. How about you?" asked Jo not taking much interest in the conversation or talking with him.

"Same. Made any new songs?"

"Not really I'm starting on one but I don't exactly have drums or a bass. Now do I?"

"No, guess not. Anyway here's Jean"

"Hey, why don't me and the band come down to LA and we could show everybody how we do it in Chicago?"

"C'mon you and I both know that you and the rest of the gang cant afford to send all three of you guys to LA, two of you maybe but its out of your league to pay for the three of you guys. It's just not possible with the cash we or should I say you earn at those clubs, bars, parties, and on the street. And you know it and so do the others."

"You just had to give me that didn't you? Just go ahead and crash my dreams," screamed Jean.

"I'm not crashing your dreams I'm just giving you a dose of reality. And you-." Jo never got to finish her sentence as Jean had just hung up on her. Jo hung up the phone as well. '_The guys are probably chewing him out for hanging' up on me especially since they had not been able to say 'goodbye' to me.' _

"What was that all about?" asked Dean curiously.

"That was my old band. We used to play together in Chicago. Jean's the dreamer of the group always believing he can do something even though deep down he know he can't and he's the one who is the most immature of the gang. Evan is the muscle, he writes the music, and he's the kind of guy you don't want to get angry he's nice but when he's angry you don't want to be near him. Kristen is well… hyper, all the time twenty- four/ seven but she is definitely the brains of the group. It gets kinda annoying actually. I'm the talent of the four I write most of the songs, I don't take any crap from anyone and I don't let people boss me around. Jean is probably getting beat up by Evan right now for hanging up the phone on me and Kris is probably trying to break it up," said Jo smiling fondly remembering her old band. "C'mon let's get out of here."

"Um…okay, sure," answered Dean a little unsure. "What changed your mind? You told me that you were going to play your guitar."

"My mind changed. After that phone call I decided that I didn't want to play tonight." The truth was that she wanted to play but she knew that it would bring too many memories back to her about the band. She also knew that Jean was mad at her and the others would be mad at her if Jean told them what she had said. All she wanted was to go to the hotel room and lie there on the bed and think.

Once they got back to the hotel room that's exactly what she did, lie on the bed with the CD that she and the band had made. Listening to that CD brought back memories both good and bad. The time they first met, first song, first gig, first everything. But the bad times weren't as enjoyable. The time they got jumped at a club, their first arrest, first police chase, and first band fight all of her bad history came crashing into her like a wave crashes onto the beach. She decided to work on a song to take her mind off of it. She got out her guitar and her laptop, which had a voice type in it so, what ever she said it would be typed and it would appear on the screen.

There was no way she was going to tell Dean about her past unless she had no other choice.


	7. Chapter 7

The night wasn't any better for Jo. She tossed and turned in her bed while a nightmare of her past washed over her.

_"Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell, your daughter, Joann, cannot stay here. We, The Child Welfare Committee, believe that you should put her up for adoption or in a foster home."_

_"No! I'm not putting my daughter in any of those orphanages or foster homes. This is her home she belongs here!" echoed her father's voice._

_"Are you sure this is the safest environment for her? Don't you want the best for her? You have had some mishaps with the police and you are over due with your bills and house payments."_

_"We know all of this!" screamed her mother. _

_"All right she can go with you to whatever place you are going to take her. But let us tell her," sighed Jo's father._

_"What! No! This is her home!" screamed Mrs. Mitchell._

_"It's the best for her. She'll come back once we get all this bull taken care of," replied Mr. Mitchell._

_"Alright," sighed Jo's mother. "Jo you can come in now."_

_"Mommy, Daddy what's gonna happen to me?"_

_"You are going to go with these nice people to a new home until we can get some of these bills and other stuff cleared up. Okay?"_

_"Okay, Will I ever see you and Mommy again?"_

_"Of course you will, Jo. I promise."_

_"Evan, Kris, Jean, I'm leaving. I can't stay here any more."_

_"So, you're dumping us? I thought you cared about us, me most of all, you and I dated."_

_"I can't believe you would do this, you and I were like sisters. And your just gonna leave us?"_

_"I looked up to you. I can't believe you would do this to us."_

_"You guys don't get it do you!? I got a call a few months ago saying I might have a chance at adoption! I always wanted a real father, not one that was almost always drunk or depressed! And I finally got a chance to have that! I thought you guys would be happy for me, but I guess I was wrong? I guess this is good-bye. I might actually try to keep in touch, you know see if you guys can actually live without me!?"_

"I'm sorry! Don't leave me!" Jo screamed as she bolted up right in her bed woken up from the nightmare.

"Jo are you all right? It sounded like you had a bad dream," asked Dean, who had woken up from her scream and was now walking over to Jo's bed.

"Yeah, I think so. It was just a memory. My father was in it and so was the rest of the band. I hope I don't ever have to have that dream again," sighed Jo as Dean sat next to her on the bed._ ' I guess I should tell him about my past before this relationship gets deeper.' _thought Jo_. _"Dean there's something I have to tell you," answered Jo quietly.

"What is it? You know you can tell me any thing," answered Dean putting a comporting arm around his girlfriend's shoulder. Dean looked into Jo's face and noticed that she had tears running down her cheek. Dean gently wiped them away with his middle knuckle. Jo closed her eyes as he wiped her tears away.

"Thanks," Jo replied. She took a deep breath and started. "It is about my past, I think I should tell you now, it's better sooner then later in my case. I guess it all started when my mom died, I was eight at the time. That's when I realized what true lose was. My dad went into a depression after that, got drunk and really high most of the time. Every day after school the bus dropped me off at a bar that my dad drank at. Most of my time was spent at that place only because home was too far to walk to. I was usually there till about ten pm or somewhere around there. That's when I realized what real anger was, he was always angry and he took all of that anger out on me, I almost passed out because of him and his anger. You may think that passing out isn't a big deal but you have to under stand that I have went through physical abuse daily and I was used to it. So if I passed out then I got hit really hard."

By now Jo was crying. Dean tightened his grip on Jo to let her know he was there. "Then when I was older, I think about twelve, I got a job at the same bar my dad hung out in. I don't know why I did it, probably because I was used to being in that place. That's when I met Evan, he worked the bar during the day and I think he was sixteen or seventeen. My life and me were messed up so he and I ended up dating, we got what we would call "kind of drunk" one night and we did something like vandalize the mayors house in our underwear or something really crazy to some important person, I cant remember. Someone saw us and they called the cops. Evan pulled me into his truck and we had our first police chase and the worst part was that Evan found out who called the cops on us and he went to their house and severely injured that person and knocked the rest of the family out cold. We both got sent to Juvie. Hall and that's where we met Kris, we all became friends really quickly. Once we all got out of Juvie. Hall we went back to the bar and worked, Kris got a job there too so life was all right. Then Jean came into the picture, his dad was a super successful businessman and his mom worked at a café and well he lived with his mom. The only reason his mom married his dad was because he was rich. When he found out she was cheating on him for about the billionth time they get a divorce and I think he disowned both her and Jean. All of our lives were basically the same so we could relate to each other's problems. A few months later we started the band and we all rented this apartment that we all lived in. When I was fourteen, Evan got really drunk one night and I was stupid enough to not be able to tell and he took the kiss a little too far and every time I would try and pull away he just pulled me closer to him. And to top it all off he tried to get me to marry him that same night. When I told him 'no' he tried to hurt me and that's when Kris somehow came into the picture and we all got into what we would call a "little" fight and eventually we got Evan knocked out and we ran for our lives. The next day I told them I was leaving because I wanted to get out of that heck hole for good and also the fact that I had a shot at adoption. Well as you can imagine they didn't like that very much. Kris understood only because she helped me with Evan the night before but she was still really upset. All I remember was running out of the building and skating away. Then I went to say bye to my dad. He didn't like my leaving either, I could kinda tell because he threw a lamp at me and started heavily cussing me out. That's when I decided to forget everything about my past, just forget I had one. My whole life I basically never fully trusted anyone until now. You see why I didn't tell you all about my self when I met you? I was afraid my past would push you away and you're the best thing that's ever happened to me in a really long time." Now Jo was crying so hard that she could have made another Mississippi river. Dean's shirt was damp since Jo had been crying into his chest. Jo was thankful for Dean being there, it made things a lot easier for her. Dean kissed Jo on the head hoping that him being there comforted her.

"I can see why you didn't tell me all this earlier on. I would probably have done the same. And your wrong your past would_ not_ have pushed me away, in my opinion it would have made our relationship stronger," answered Dean speaking softly to Jo.

"What? How?" answered Jo looking up at Deans' face.

"You trusted me with the truth of your past, which is dark and gloomy. It shows that you trust me. Does that help?" asked Dean. "I want you to know something Jo, I care about you and your past isn't going to change that, I promise."

"Yeah, it really helps, more than you know," answered Jo closing her eyes and resting her head on his shoulder. "I care about you too Dean more than you know." In a few minutes they were both asleep for the rest of the night. This time Dean had the rough night. He had a dream about Evan running into the hotel room with a gun and shooting Jo and he could not do anything to help her, for some reason he couldn't move, no matter how much he wanted to.

The next morning they both decided to rest up from the rough night they both had had and because they were going to meet the rest of Dean's team the next day. For the most part of the morning Jo painted her nails and went to the pool. Dean decided to go to the work out room while Jo was at the pool. After that they just hung out in the hotel room. Late in the afternoon they went down to the beach to go for a walk and got dinner at a nearby Chick-fill-A. That night Jo took some light sleeping pills hoping they would help keep another dream away. Dean stayed up till midnight just in case Jo woke up from another nightmare. Eventually, Dean fell asleep and had no dreams of Evan or guns. But rather dreams about Jo and him.

The next morning they both woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast and packed up all of their things. In the middle of their packing, Dean's cell phone rang.

"Dean Portman here."

"Hello Dean. This is Gordon Bombay, your new coach. Right now, the team and I are about to land in LA. The reason I called was to tell you that we will meet you at the local ice rink in about two or two and a half hours," Bombay said over the phone. "I'm going to let you talk to some of the rest of the team. Here's Courtney."

"Hi," Courtney greeted him cheerfully.

"Hi," Dean replied back.

"Have you ever played hockey before?" Courtney asked a little uncertain.

"Yeah," Dean replied "A lot."

"That's good. We're a good team, but we always have room for one more."

"That's cool."

"Well, I'm gonna let you talk to some…other people," Courtney said, not knowing what else to say.

"Hey," Adam said coolly.

'Hey,' answered Dean quickly.

"We're all looking forward to meeting you," said Adam

"Yeah, I'm really lookin' forward to meeting my new team, too. Hey, tell me a little bit about them," Dean replied.

"Well, we've got two girls that are really good. We've got a great coach, good goalie and in general a good team. Everybody's really cool too. I think you and Fulton will get along really well," Adam exclaimed.

"Yeah, well…we'll see," Dean replied sarcastically.

"Jesse here. Listen, you don't belong with us, man," Jesse said "We earned our wings. You can't just become a duck you gotta earn it. So don't come prancing in here like you're better than us! Just 'cause you're on our team don't mean you're one of us! When you get here don't act all buddy buddy with us 'cause it ain't gonna work. I heard about you're kind of people and you guys are trash."

"You better hope you have some of your crappie team members with you punk!" Dean shouted. "If you don't, the best thing would be for would be to run. And who said I wanted to be a stupid dumb bird, I play for me and no one else. Besides I'm not the one who sucks that's you."

"Um…hi, this is Charlie. The rest of the team doesn't think that you don't belong here with us, Jesse is always like that to newcomers."

"Okay, that's nice to know, I guess it's kinda tough coming into a team that has known each other for awhile and you know next to nothing about them."

"I gotta hang up. Bye."

"Yeah, Bye," replied Dean as he hung up the phone.

"That was all bull crap wasn't it?" asked Jo smiling after Dean hung up the phone.

"What? Oh what I told all the new crewmembers that talked to me? Yeah, ninety-five percent of it. I was barley listening to them, except that Jesse kid," replied Dean. "We're supposed to meet the team in a little while at the local rink."

"Um…Dean, just wondering but am I going to stay with you or what's the plan?" asked Jo.

"Yeah, you're coming with me!" Dean answered as if it were the most obvious thing. "And if the coach has a problem with that then he's just gonna have to live with it, cause I'm not leaven you here alone. I'm kinda afraid my dream's gonna come true." Dean took a seat on his bed.

"What dream? You never told me about a dream," stated Jo taking a seat by him and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"It was kinda weird. Evan busted into the hotel room and he had a gun, he shot you, and I couldn't do anything to stop him."

"Don't worry, there is no way Evan could get here before the competition is over, all the flights coming here will be booked and he probably couldn't afford it."

"Yeah I know…but still. I don't want you to be left alone, you might think I'm being over protective and paranoid but it's only because I don't want to loose you, I care about you too much."

"Yeah me too. Listen, I can take care of myself but thanks for watching out for me. I'm not used to people caring and looking out for me, I've always had to take care of myself, no one to rely on except me, I guess I'm just used to being on my own." Jo and Dean's eyes locked. To Dean Jo's eyes weren't the electric blue he had always seen, they were more like a color so stunning no words could describe. Both of them didn't realize that their faces were coming closer together until Dean whispered 'I love you'. Their lips met and they shared a kiss. Dean was surprised at the softness of Jo's lips. He was also surprised to find that Jo's mouth tasted like candy to him. Jo was surprised at how Dean's kisses were. His were soft and gentle. Unlike Evans who's were rough and pushy.

"C'on, let's go and find out if this new team of mine is any good," suggested Dean once they broke apart.

"Sure, we're heading out early so I can skate with you for some warm up laps before we meet them," said Jo.

They checked out of the hotel and roller bladed to the ice rink hand in hand. Once they were there Dean went and put his hockey gear on while Jo went to the stands and dropped her stuff on one of the team benches, she laced up her ice skates and went out onto the rink to join her boyfriend. They started playing a one on one game, and then Jo got into the goal for Dean to get some shooting practice in. After that they skated laps around the rink for about ten minutes before they took a five-minute break.

"How about I go and get us something to drink? Some food would be good too," said Jo.

"Sure I'll stay here in case the new team shows up," answered Dean.

"Be back in a sec.," stated Jo. She stood up and went out of the stadium area. Dean went out onto the ice and started skating laps then no sooner his cell phone rang.

"Hello," said Dean.

"Hey I just saw some people enter the arena they look like they're a hockey team," stated Jo. "How much you wana bet that's them?"

"Yeah some 15 or 14 people just entered the arena. What! That can't be them! They don't even look like they could stand a game with little girls! But that's them cause Tibbles is with them. But they have some good-looking girls, I think your gonna have some competition." answered Dean jokingly.

"Dean! How dare you," cried Jo playfully over the cell phone. "You are going to get A LOT of playing time with this crowd. Who knows maybe one of them might get hurt and I could fill in the roster spot."

"Now that would be awesome, you and I on the same team. Then we could show everybody the strength of Chicago."

"Yeah that would be sweet. Now go and great your new team of little girls and remember to play nice," Jo joked as she hung up the cell phone.


	8. Chapter 8

One week later, Courtney was standing in an airport with her mother and Charlie by her side. Courtney stared out the window at the planes. It was pitch black outside. Courtney could hardly make out the planes through the fog. It hung in midair like a shield. Courtney shuddered at the ghastly scene in front of her. It scared her to think that she would be flying through all that mess!

"Remind me again how on Earth you woke me up this morning?" Courtney mumbled.

"Oh, it wasn't easy!" Mrs. Robertson replied. "Remember, I want two letters every week. I'll be watching you on TV, I promise. Oh, and if you can, a phone call every Tuesday. Use your cell, okay?"

"I gotcha mom. A phone call every Tuesday and two letters per week." Mrs. Robertson gave Courtney a big hug and a kiss.

"I love you, mom! Good-bye!" Courtney shouted from the gate.

"I love you too!" Mrs. Robertson replied.

Charlie and Courtney both grabbed their carry on luggage. Charlie smiled at her excitedly.

"I hope you're ready. This is a chance of a lifetime," he laughed. "This is gonna be something you never forget, mark my words."

"Whatever," Courtney replied, pushing him to his seat.

When everyone was seated on the plane, Courtney was sitting with Charlie. Charlie had the window seat and Courtney had the isle seat. Next to Courtney was Adam, who was sitting with Dwayne. Behind Courtney was Connie and beside her was Guy. Fulton was seated in front of Courtney and was soon joined by Jesse. Averman sat with Goldberg in front of Adam. Ken sat behind Adam with Luis. Russ was left sitting with Coach Bombay in front of Fulton and Jesse. He didn't seem upset at all. As soon as the plane took off, everyone started ordering drinks. Goldberg ordered fifteen drinks, assuring everyone he could drink them in less than five minutes. Everyone watched in amazement as Goldberg drank them all in four minutes and thirty-three seconds! Jesse and Fulton had bet five dollars that he couldn't do it. They reluctantly handed him their money.

"Here's something else you can bet on," Goldberg stated.

"What's that?" Guy asked.

"How long I'll be in the bathroom!" he yelled as he ran from his seat. Courtney burst out laughing. Despite the excitement, she was having difficulty keeping her eyes open. She decided to just not fight it. After all, Charlie was asleep too. She grabbed the headphones that lay in front of her and popped her favorite CD, Good Charlotte, into her CD player. The music comforted her. She was almost asleep when she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and saw Adam gazing at her.

"Yes?" she asked groggily.

"What are you listening to?" he asked. It took Courtney a few seconds to remember the name of the group.

"Good Charlotte," she finally said.

"Awesome," he replied. "That's who I'm listening to too."

"I'm so tired," Courtney yawned.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you."

"Oh no, it's perfectly fine. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Okay..."Adam replied curiously. Courtney looked around to see who was listening. No one was paying them any mind.

"Well... Do you consider us going out?" she asked quietly.

"Do you?" he immediately shot back at her. She sat quietly thinking of what to say. This wasn't what she had expected. She was expecting him to either say yes or no.

"I dunno," she laughed. She gazed into Adam's crystal clear blue eyes. He slowly moved toward her and kissed her gently on the lips. Courtney closed her eyes. His lips were smooth and moist. It was the perfect moment. Her heart raced.

"Ooohhhh..." Courtney looked up to see Jesse looking over his seat at them. Courtney saw Adam's face turning red just as her own was.

"I'd say that's a yes, Courtney!" Jesse laughed.

Charlie sat up and looked around bewildered. He looked as if he had no clue where he was.

"Who yelled?" he asked. Courtney turned to Jesse and stared at him.

"I did, Charlie. Why?" Jesse whispered. Charlie shook his head as if to get a thought out of his head.

"Jesse!" Courtney cried playfully, "You woke him up! You should feel awful!"

"Oh, no, it's fine. I just wanna know what's going on." Charlie stuttered.

"Oh, nothing much. Adam just kissed Courtney that's all!" Jesse shouted nonchalantly.

"Well that sounds like something!" Charlie said sarcastically. Courtney could feel her face turning red so she turned away from them. Charlie saw the look on her face and told everyone else to shut up and go to sleep. Courtney was grateful to him.

About two hours later, Connie and Charlie switched seats. Courtney quickly slid into the window seat.

"So…Adam kissed you?" Connie whispered excitedly.

"Yes, he did."

"How was it?" Connie asked anxiously. Courtney tried not to act thrilled, but she couldn't. Her face split into a grin and she explained it all to Connie.

"Wow!" Connie exclaimed. "You're so lucky!"

"Says the girl who is sitting with her boyfriend on the plane," Courtney said laughing. Connie playfully punched Courtney in the arm. Courtney's heart was beating so fast from the excitement that she needed sugar to refuel. Thankfully, a stewardess happened to walk by.

After eating, Courtney couldn't help but fall back asleep. This time she had two seats to herself because Connie was sitting with Guy again and Charlie was sitting by himself too. She dreamed that the Ducks had just won the Junior Goodwill Games and she was hugging Adam tightly. She remembered the smile on his face and the glint in his eyes. He had just won it for the team in a shoot out and in his eyes the only thing she could see was his feelings for her. Courtney woke up in a daze. She wanted to talk to Adam. She didn't feel like talking to anyone else.

"Adam?" she asked quietly. When he didn't move she tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Yeah?" he replied sleepily.

"You wanna talk?" Courtney asked. She looked around. Everyone else was asleep. The only overhead lights that were on were theirs. Adam sat up and looked at Courtney. He blinked a few times and rubbed the back of his head.

"Okay. What do you wanna talk about?" Courtney thought for a moment. She didn't know exactly what the topic would be, she just knew she wanted to talk. He was hypnotizing her with his eyes. She snapped back into focus,

"Oh, uh, well, just about stuff. We'll see where the conversation brings us to, how's that?" He nodded his head.

"Okay. Did you know some of the best conversations start out that way?"

"Why don't you move over here, first?" she added.

"Good idea. So, do you think we'll do well at the Junior Goodwill Games?" he asked. He thought they would do exceptionally well.

"I sure hope so. I know we've got one heck of a center," Courtney said slyly. Adam laughed. "We've got a really good goalie, pretty good defense, and some pretty good forwards too."

"Yeah, you're right. Man, I dunno what it is about this trip, but I am whooped! We haven't even played yet and I could fall asleep standing up. Well, we're already up!" Adam snickered. Courtney looked nervously out the window then threw down a piece of cloth to cover it.

"Yeah, I'm tired too. I'm not sure what it is!" Courtney laughed nervously.

"What's wrong?" Adam asked startled.

"Nothing... I'm just kind of..." Courtney's voice trailed off.

"Kind of...what?" he asked.

"...Afraid of planes," she barely whispered.

"Why?" Adam asked sweetly.

"I'm not sure. It's probably from all the planes that have been high-jacked and the plane crashes. I doesn't exactly make me feel safe, ya' know?" Adam lightly put his arm around Courtney and pulled her slightly closer to him.

"You have nothing to worry about. I'm here with you," Adam whispered into her ear. Courtney smiled at him and laid her head down onto his shoulder.

"I do feel better knowing that," she admitted, "But I feel even better when you protect me like you are now."

"I hope you do!" Adam laughed. It wasn't long before they fell asleep.

The next thing Courtney remembered was Coach Bombay shaking her awake.

"Come one, you two. We've got an hour until before land." He hurriedly shouted.

"Then let me sleep for another hour," Courtney groaned as she turned her head to the other side.

"I'm with her on this," Adam mumbled.

"You need to get everything ready to go." Neither if them moved. "Up!" Coach Bombay shouted. Courtney saw Dwayne jump awake as Coach Bombay yelled. Apparently, it worked on him just as good as it did them, because all three were the first to have all of their belongings together. Courtney was wide-awake fifteen minutes later and playing cards with Averman, who was unsuccessful in trying to cheat to win.

"Oh! I can't even win when I cheat!" he laughed.

"That's 'cause you always make it obvious when you cheat!" Courtney replied.

"Yeah, I guess so," Averman muttered. Adam walked by and heard their conversation. Adam silently laughed at Averman behind his back. Averman turned to face him.

"What're you doing?" he asked.

"Nothing. I'm just…uh…looking at this-this lovely book bag," he lied.

"Oh, okay," Averman said turning around. Courtney laughed as Adam shrugged and threw whoever's bag it was back down.

"I'm gonna make a phone call to your new teammate. If any of you guys wanna say anything to him just tell me and I'll hand you my phone," Coach Bombay announced. People crowded around him and waited for him to dial the number. They stood and waited for him to finish his conversation. Courtney was handed the phone first.

"Hi," she greeted him cheerfully.

"Hi," he replied back.

"Have you ever played hockey before?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied, "A lot."

"That's good. We're a good team, but we always have room for one more." "That's cool."

"Well, I'm gonna let you talk to some…other people," Courtney said, not knowing what else to say.

"Hey," Adam said coolly. Adam heard a quick 'Hey,' from Portman. "We're all looking forward to meeting you."

"Yeah, I'm really lookin' forward to meeting my new team, too. Hey, tell me a little bit about them," Portman replied.

"Well, we've got two girls that are really good. We've got a great coach, good goalie and in general a good team. Everybody's really cool too. I think you and Fulton will get along really well," Adam exclaimed.

"Yeah, well…we'll see," Portman replied sarcastically.

Jesse took the phone out of Adam's hand before he could say good-bye. Courtney walked away and continued her game with Averman. She heard Jesse talking with Portman.

"Jesse here. Listen, you don't belong with us, man," she heard him say. She looked up in awe. "We earned our wings. You can't just become a duck you gotta earn it. So don't come prancing in here like you're better than us! Just 'cause you're on our team don't mean you're one of us! When you get here don't act all buddy buddy with us 'cause it ain't gonna work. I heard about you're kind of people and you guys are trash." Jesse quickly handed the phone to Dwayne and Dwayne quickly dropped the phone to Charlie like it was on fire. Charlie hurriedly apologized and told him that the team wasn't like that and they would set Jesse straight. Charlie didn't spend much time talking to Portman before he hung up. Coach Bombay was furious with Jesse. Everyone tried to ignore him screaming at Jesse. Jesse looked like it wasn't bothering him that he was yelling into his ear. There was a look of relief on Jesse's face when Coach Bombay turned to the rest of the team.

"Guys, cards up! Now, pay attention! When the plane lands we will all get off together! Is there anyone who doesn't understand together-" Goldberg started to raise his hand but quickly put it back down with one glare from Coach Bombay. "As I was saying, you will wait until every teammate is off the plane. We will then wait for the bus that will bring us to the hotel. Everybody got it?" he asked. Everyone mumbled in agreement.

People scrambled about trying to get back into their original seats for the landing.

"Hey, Charlie," Courtney greeted him, "This is it! We're here! We're actually in Los Angeles! Can you believe it?"

"I know," Charlie replied in awe, "We're gonna be on live TV! Everyone's gonna know our name's! We'll be famous!" Courtney nodded excited.


	9. Chapter 9

The team quietly got off the plane, afraid of upsetting Coach Bombay. He still looked furious at Jesse.

"I don't care. The guy's _not_ a duck! I've read about him, he'll change the whole attitude of this team!" Jesse told Courtney.

"We should at least give him a shot," Adam argued.

"Yeah," Charlie chimed in, "We gave Adam a shot and he's like an old buddy now! Help me out, Courtney. You've only known Adam for a few weeks, doesn't it seem longer?" Courtney impatiently looked to Dwayne. She tried to make eye contact with him. When she did she tried desperately to tell Dwayne with her eyes to get her out of this mess. Dwayne understood and attempted to get them to hurry to the rest of the team. "Courtney?" Charlie asked.

"Okay! It _has_ been longer than that!" she whispered.

"What do you mean?" Charlie asked confused. Adam was shaking his head as if to say 'Don't tell!' Courtney shrugged and started slowly.

"I…used to be a Hawk." Charlie laughed at her and Dwayne spun around and gazed at her.

"Nah! Your mom wouldn't let you play, remember?"

"I lied to you, Charlie. I _was_ a Hawk. It was before my dad started going on a lot of business trips. I can hardly remember so I don't count it as playing. My mom doesn't either. I think she's mentally blocked out those days or something like that. You wouldn't believe the fights between my mom and dad about me playing. When my dad left on his first trip, my mom wouldn't drive me to practice and it was just kind of decided that I wasn't playing anymore. I guess this time my mom just couldn't deny that I had an incredible gift. Anyway, I was on Adam's team. I hardly knew him at all. In fact, I didn't remember he was on my team until a few nights ago when I was looking through old photographs," Courtney explained quietly. Dwayne was paying close attention to every word she said. Charlie and Jesse were gawking at her. Adam, who had already heard about it on the plane looked to be deep in thought.

"You were a Hawk?" Jesse finally asked disapprovingly. Courtney nodded her head slowly. "B-but…you don't act like one."

"I wasn't like the team. I was very quiet."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Jesse questioned.

"I didn't want you treating _her_ the way you treated _me_. I told her it would be better if you never knew. I know how you feel about that team from personal experience. I didn't want her to go through that experience," Adam stated clearly.

"Sorry, guys," Courtney mumbled.

"It's all right," Jesse smiled. Courtney sighed happily and flashed a smile to Adam. "I guess _some_ Hawks aren't that bad!"

"Yeah, they're okay," Adam smiled.

They hurried to the rest of their team, which were waiting inside. It was silent among the players. Connie jabbed Courtney with her elbow. She nodded her head toward another gate. Courtney looked over in time to see the Russian team emerging from their plane.

"They look good," Dwayne said with a hint of worry in his voice.

"Looks aren't everything. _Especially_ in hockey. Adam and I went to an Eden Hall game the other night and the opposite team looked _really_ good, but they lost…_badly_," Courtney exclaimed. Dwayne nodded.

The bus to bring the players to the hotel was twenty minutes late. Unfortunately, for the driver Coach Bombay was still pretty tweaked about what had happened earlier on the phone with Jesse. Courtney followed Dwayne onto the bus.

"Can I sit here?" Courtney asked Dwayne.

"'Course ya' can." Courtney watched as Coach Bombay took Adam aside. _Great, _she thought, _I wonder what we did?_ When Adam got onto the bus, he sat in the first seat and motioned for Courtney to come up there. She hopped out of her seat.

"The Coach wants me to be Portman's "buddy"! He say's I'm just the person to introduce him to everyone. I can't believe this," Adam whispered furiously.

"I'm sorry. Why are you sitting up here?" Courtney asked.

"Coach Bombay wants to talk to me about Portman. Why me?" he whined.

"I don't know, Adam. I've gotta go. See ya'." Courtney returned to her seat. Adam looked about ready to cry. She felt so bad for him.

"Is Adam in trouble for something?" Dwayne asked. Courtney took a good look at Dwayne. She bet he had a lot of girls in Texas. His face had a boyish tint to it and his eyes sparkled brightly. With deep green eyes like that there was no way you could over look him.

"No. He's not in trouble," Courtney muttered.

"I'm glad you sat here. I wanted to talk to you about you being a Hawk."

"Oh, Dwayne. Please don't bring it up!" she whined.

"Just listen-"

"No, I don't wanna talk about it." They both raised their voices trying to talk over one another.

"Listen-"

"Dwayne-"

"I was a Hawk," he finally managed to tell her. Courtney was speechless. _He was a what? Did he just say he was a Hawk?' _She thought to herself.

Courtney was silent now. Dwayne waved his hand in front of her face. She had a dazed expression.

"Courtney?" he asked softly. Something about his country accent brought her back. His voice was soothing. "Courtney!" he shouted.

"W-what?" she hesitated. Russ leaned over his seat.

"Keep it down, will ya'?" he asked annoyed. Luis' head popped up, too.

"He didn't get much sleep last night or on the plane, so he's really cranky! I hope he gets more sleep so he won't be so crappy!" Luis stated. Russ glared at him, then broke into a grin. He play punched him in the arm and they started laughing.

"Just don't talk so loud," Russ said,

"Right," Courtney and Dwayne said in unison. Russ and Luis sat back down.

"You were a Hawk, too? But when?" Courtney questioned making sure she was talking lower.

"Same time you were. I can remember more from my younger days than most people can. My mom says it is a gift," Dwayne explained proudly.

"But, then when did you move to Texas?" Courtney asked confused. Dwayne didn't have a chance to answer her. They had just pulled up in front of the UCLA dorms. They were older buildings constructed from brick. The musty smell inside made Courtney gasp for air. Thankfully, the smell disintegrated in seconds. The team had two floors to themselves. The hallways were narrow, yet the rooms were medium-sized. Coach Bombay posted the rooms and roommates. Courtney was surprised when she was read whom she was rooming with.

"Adam, Dwayne, and me?" Connie shouted in disbelief. Courtney nodded her head. She and Connie decided to check out their room before they asked the coach about their room assignments. It looked like no one had ever lived in it prior to them. It was bigger than most of the other rooms with two sets of brown bunk beds that looked stable. The walls were bare and white. A balcony extended from their room hanging over a small walkway. Bathrooms were right across the hall as well as a vending machine.

Connie threw her bags onto the top bunk with a soft _thump_! Courtney did the same, but put her bags onto the bottom. Adam walked into the room and paused in his tracks. He looked from Connie to Courtney. The two girls returned to unpacking, but Adam kept glancing from them to the door. As Adam opened the door to check the number, Dwayne walked in.

"Hey y'all! Isn't this great! All four of us together!" He shouted. Adam raised his eyebrows suddenly understanding why the two girls had been in there.

While Dwayne and Adam sat on the balcony and talked, Connie and Courtney got their gear together so they would be ready to go to the rink. Courtney wondered if Portman was as nervous about meeting the team as she had been that first time. _But then again, guys usually don't get nervous about stuff like that, _Courtney thought. _I wonder what he's thinking about our team right now? I wonder if he's any good…_

Outside on the balcony, Adam was thinking the same thing, however he voiced his opinion.

"What do you think he'll be like? Do you think he's any good?"

"I dunno, Adam. But we don't have time to talk about it 'cause we gotta get going. We're supposed to be at the rink in five minutes!" Dwayne responded.

"Yeah," Adam whispered as he rushed to keep up with Dwayne.

Everyone was outside of the dorm ready to go with their gear. At least, everyone but Goldberg was ready.

"Averman! You told me the coach had canceled practice and we were gonna go out and eat somewhere!" he shouted. Averman and Luis snickered.

"Sorry, man. Guess I got a little confused," Averman panted through his laughter.

"Hurry up, Goldberg! We gotta get to the rink. We'll be in the bus waiting for you. And hey, maybe we will go get something to eat afterwards!" Coach Bombay yelled playfully. He seemed to have cooled down quite a bit since earlier. This made the whole team a little calmer.

The players rushed onto the air-conditioned bus. Courtney sat with Adam to make him feel better about having to be Portman's "buddy". She knew he didn't want to do it. She gladly would have taken the spot if it would make Adam happier. However, the coach wouldn't let anyone else switch with him.

"If Portman's a jerk, let me know and I will take care of him," Courtney said seriously. "Dwayne would help. I know you might not think he's very strong, but most people that are from the country like he is are. Fulton and Jesse would help too. Those, besides you and Charlie, are probably the strongest on our team."

"Thanks. I think I'll be able to handle him, though. He can't be that bad. Plus, I know what's it like the be the new guy and I know how it feels to have people ragging on you all the time," Adam explained. Adam started laughing as he caught sight of Goldberg running from the doors to the bus.

The team got to the rink ten minutes later, being twenty minutes late. They impatiently put on their gear and skates.

"Adam!" Coach Bombay yelled from the ice. Adam and Courtney turned around. "Come with me." He led the two of them over to a tall, black-haired boy. He looked much older than the rest of the team. _Could this possibly be Portman?_ Courtney thought alarmed. Adam looked him up and down. His smile changed to a slight frown. Courtney immediately had a bad feeling about this. "This is Dean Portman. Dean, this is Adam Banks and Courtney Robertson." Obviously, Portman didn't care what the coach had to say. He only turned up his headphones more. The music was blasting. He grabbed his hockey stick and skated off. "Well…get ready guys. This is gonna be really interesting," Bombay sighed shaking his head. Adam met Courtney's eyes and knew she was thinking the same thing. _This is gonna be bad. No doubt about it._

They reluctantly turned to their teammates who were now throwing disapproving looks to Portman. Jesse trudged out of the locker room with Coach Bombay behind him.

"Gather round!" he shouted. People grumbled as they crowded around. "This is Dean Portman. I expect you all to be courteous and nice." Jesse rolled his eyes. Portman put on a fake smile.

"Gordon!" a small man cried out from the stands. Coach Bombay held up a finger to his team to tell them to wait. As soon as he was gone, Jesse got up into Portman's face.

"I'm Jesse," he snarled. Portman's eyebrows lifted in surprise. Courtney gulped nervously.

"I'm surprised you had the guts to face me after that call I got from you, punk!" Portman shouted.

"In my hood we don't back down. You step up to the plate no matter what!" Jesse shouted in reply.

"Yeah, well let me show you how we do things in _my_ hood!" Portman moved closer to Jesse's face until they were less than an inch apart. Courtney's heart was beating rapidly. She saw Adam frantically looking for Coach Bombay. It was no use. He was outside.

"Go ahead! Bring it on! I'm tough I can handle you. I'm not gonna back down if that's your plan. I'm not afraid of anything you can do to me. I've got a team right here that will back me up."

"That's cool. I'll take on all of you. If you ain't scared, then why are you buying time talking until your coach comes back to break it up?"

"Who says I wanna talk. I'll take you on!" Jesse lunged at Portman. Guy tried desperately to get between the two. Jesse took a punch at Portman and hit him in the chin. Portman returned the punch but hit Jesse in the eye. Angered by this, Fulton jumped onto Portman's back and started punching him. Courtney didn't know what to do. Neither did the rest of them. Pretty soon, the whole team, including Courtney, was beating up on Portman.

"Get off me man!" she heard Adam yell. She turned around and saw Portman on top of Adam. She and Adam punched Portman hard in the nose at the same time. Blood started to drip from it. He aimed at her, but she ducked in time. The blow hit Russ. He fell onto the ice and was smothered by Luis who had just fallen as well. Eventually, Coach Bombay heard the commotion and ran onto the ice. He pulled Ken and Russ from the top of the pile.

"What's goin' on!?" he screamed. Only Guy twirled to face him. Everyone else continued on with the fight. "What do you think you're doing?!" he bellowed. "HEY!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "EVERYBODY GET UP, NOW!" One by one players got up examining each other's wounds. Courtney's lip was bleeding and she was probably going to have a black eye on the right side. She also had a cut under her right eye that was all ready turning green. Adam had a cut above his left eye that was bleeding down his forehead. He already had a black circle forming around his right eye. Connie looked absolutely pathetic. She had blood covering her cheek completely. It had run down onto her clothes. She had a huge cut less than three centimeters away from her eye. Her lip was bleeding and swollen. Dwayne had a cut on his shoulder where his clothes had been torn. The area was stained with blood. He had a cut on his forehead and a bruise forming on his cheek.

Coach Bombay looked from player to player. The team hung their heads' in shame. Courtney gingerly touched her eye and lip. Both hurt badly. Then she caught sight of Charlie and stopped feeling sorry for herself. He had been the one caught in the middle and had the most damage done.

He was sitting down on the ice crying which only made the blood that covered his face run onto his jersey more. He looked like a Kindergartner who had just had his lunch money stolen. He had a wide gash from his right ear to his nose and another cut above his left eye. His chin and lip had been busted open. She could hardly bear to look at him, but her eyes seemed to be glued on him. He had a black eye all ready and his left hand was bleeding badly. His bangs were matted together from blood that had come from a cut on his forehead. It must have been the skates and sticks that had cut them up so crudely.

"Adam," she cried, "Look at Charlie." As Adam's gaze followed Courtney's she saw a tear drop from his eye. Courtney couldn't help but cry. Charlie was bawling like a baby, but the team didn't care. Courtney skated to him first and hugged him.

"Charlie, I'm so sorry!" she cried. "I'm so sorry!" She heard him sobbing into her ear. She couldn't think of anything else to say. Her mind had been blocked from the rest of the world. She knew she couldn't ask 'Are you okay?' because obviously he wasn't. The rest of the team followed Courtney and embraced him too. This did seem to soften the anger in Coach Bombay's face, but not much. Courtney slowly assisted Charlie off the ice. He was a little woozy and he couldn't walk straight.

"Coach, is there anywhere I can take him?" Courtney asked. "Don't they have a nurses station or something here?"

"They do. Guy, why don't you help her take Charlie? I can't lead you there or this might happen again. It's down the hall, take a left, first door on the right. Do you have that?" They nodded. "Okay, now as for you," he started turning to the team, "I don't know what happened, but I intend to find out. Portman, Goldberg, Averman, Jesse, and Adam, come here. I need to talk to you. I know you guys will tell me what happened. At least you better." Guy and Courtney started out for the nurse.

"Charlie, do you feel all right? What I mean is, do you think you have a concussion?" Guy asked concerned. Charlie mumbled something that he couldn't understand. When the three of them walked into the nurses' office, she dropped her coffee. She looked frightened and her eyes were glued to Charlie and Courtney's bloody clothes. It didn't bother Courtney that the blood from Charlie's jersey had rubbed off on her.

"Our hockey team got into a fight. Please help Charlie first, then the rest of our team as well. They're still out on the ice," Courtney explained. _Guy got off lucky_, Courtney thought_, he's only got a small scrape on his hand!_

"Charlie, the nurse is gonna take you and clean you up. We're gonna be waitin' right out here for ya', okay?" Guy said loudly. Courtney wasn't sure that Charlie had heard him. The nurse slowly escorted Charlie to the back. Guy and Courtney sat down in the two chairs that were in her office. Her office wasn't much bigger than their dorm room. The walls were a light peach color. Wherever they had taken Charlie must have been a lot bigger.

"This can't happen again," Guy said frustrated. Courtney sighed and stared at her shoes.

"I know. What if Charlie won't be able to play? This guy better not mess up our team," Courtney replied angrily. Guy cursed under his breath.

"We can't let him do this!" Guy shouted standing up.

"I agree, but what are we gonna do about it?" Courtney cried helplessly.

"The coach will have to think of something," he said thoughtfully.

"That will definitely not be easy, but I'll try if you will. I don't want that happening again. That could've been me or you back there right now. We've got two weeks before the competition begins. We've got to make peace with Portman before then."


	10. Chapter 10

Charlie emerged from the door forty-five minutes later. His eyes didn't look glazed anymore, just red and puffy from crying. He looked more aware of his surroundings. He had a bandage on his forehead and chin. Silver stitches lined his cheek. The nurse had changed his clothes, so he no longer wore his bloody jersey. His face was spotted with dried blood. His eyes grew wide at the bloodstains on Courtney's clothing.

"What happened?" he asked pointing to her shirt.

"Charlie, that's from you. When I hugged you, the blood from your jersey rubbed off on me. You were bleeding pretty bad," she answered.

"I was? Well…look at you!" he replied. Courtney shook her head.

"I'm fine. You were pretty bad. So what, I have a few scrapes, I'll live. You needed help, though." Courtney had been too scared for Charlie to think about her own wounds.

"Do you wanna go back, now?" Guy questioned. Charlie thought for a minute.

"I'll need to see your coach about this boy. First, I'll clean you up," the nurse pointed to Courtney, "Then, I'll get the rest of your team." She grabbed Courtney's wrist and pulled her into the back room. It wasn't much different from her office. The only difference was the size. It was a much bigger room with a small twin-sized bed in the corner, a sink, and two tables.

"Sit up here," the nurse ordered. She took a cotton ball and wiped it over her cuts. As the cotton ball made contact with her skin, it stung. Courtney took a deep breath. The nurse covered her cuts just as she had Charlie's.

"You can get down." Courtney did as the nurse instructed and joined Charlie and Guy. They led the nurse to the team.

Courtney was glad she had gone to the nurse because she didn't have to listen to Coach Bombay yelling_. If looks could kill our team would be dead_, Courtney thought. Coach Bombay glared at every single person sitting on the ice. Guy cleared his throat. Coach Bombay glanced over his shoulder at them.

"I will help each individual who needs tending to. However, I need to speak with you about this young man," the nurse announced. Coach Bombay nodded and took the nurse aside.

"We gotta do something," Russ whispered to her.

"Huh?" she asked.

"Jesse and Portman hate each other now more than ever. Plus, Fulton's in on the action too 'cause Portman's tryin' to take his place as enforcer. The coach isn't gonna be there to break up every fight!" Russ yelled.

"You're right. We've got to get them to be friends. How…well, however they got Jesse to accept Adam. We have to put them into a situation where they either work together to live or go separate ways and fail. Of course, if they took the failing road we would have to step in. But if I know Jesse like I think I do, he'll work with Portman," Courtney responded slowly.

"So what's the plan?" Ken questioned slowly. He had been standing with Russ listening. Courtney smiled mischievously.

"I'll tell you guys back at the dorm. I'll have to run it by the coach first."

About fifteen or twenty minutes later, Jo came back into the arena. She watched Portman and his new team practice. They had blood all over their jerseys; she figured there had been a fight. She wasn't surprised after that call from Jesse. Dean wasn't the type to take insults sitting down. The bleeding had stopped, the nurse made sure of that before they started practice. Dean stayed away from the nurse all he had was a bloody nose, nothing life threatening. Jo sat in the stands working on a song.

After she wrote the lyrics she thought of a tune. She typed it up both the lyrics and the music on her laptop using a program she had made. After she finished her song she put all of her attention on Dean. She could tell he disapproved of his new team. He bashed into people time and time again and he looked like he was never in the fight that happened earlier.

After the nurse had cleaned everyone up, Coach Bombay made his team do twenty laps. Courtney gulped her water down hastily.

"Before we scrimmage, I want to introduce you guys to your tutor, Ms. MacKay!" Coach Bombay shouted. She was a tall, thin woman with dark blond hair. She looked like the type that would be a teacher. She looked from one player to the next. She hadn't been there to see the fight so she was probably wondering what in the world had happened to them.

"We have a tutor!?" Goldberg shouted in anger. "What for?"

"Goldberg, I told you all ready. Since you're not at school you have to have a tutor. She's also sort of like a counselor, if you need one. It's required." Coach Bombay said. The players turned to one another unsatisfied. "Okay! Scrimmage!" He shouted. Courtney took the face off at center ice against Dwayne.

"Are you okay?" Dwayne asked before the whistle blew.

"I think. Are you?" she replied. He nodded quickly. Coach Bombay blew the whistle and Courtney was unable to get the puck. The instant the whistle blew, she felt a stabbing pain in her wrist. She doubled over and clasped it. Within a few moments, the pain had departed. She didn't understand why that had happened so she tried to forget about it. Fortunately, Adam was the only one to notice that something was wrong.

"What's wrong with your wrist?" he asked worried.

"Nothing, it's just a little sore. I guess I hit it on something." Adam looked at her suspiciously. Thankfully, it didn't hurt anymore during practice. Courtney was relieved when the coach blew the final whistle. Her whole body ached. She took a good look at the rest of her beaten up team. Jesse had a bruised chin and Portman had a nosebleed. Ken had a busted lip and a cut on his arm. Russ had a cut below his ear that was still bleeding and a cut on his chin. Goldberg had a wide cut across the palm of his hand. Averman sat on the ice clutching his leg. A long bandage covered it. There wasn't a single person who was untouched.

Courtney couldn't even sit down on the bus. She was too sore. She slowly lowered herself into the chair with a groan. She smiled weakly at Adam.

"When we get back, you should go lie down. You don't look too good," he said concerned.

"I'll be fine. I'm just tired. So, do you have to be with Portman tonight?" Courtney asked changing the subject.

"I'm supposed to bring him to a movie or something. Maybe out to eat," Adam mumbled.

"I'll go with you," Courtney suggested. She looked up to see Adam's reaction. "Only if you want me too, though," she added. Adam looked over their seat at Portman. His headphones were blaring as they had been earlier. His phone started to ring and Adam found it hard to believe that he could have heard it over his music. Adam didn't know whom he was talking to. He just heard the name Jo and 'Sorry, I couldn't find you before we left.' Adam became suspicious of Portman and listened harder to his conversation.

"What are you-"

"Shh!" Adam said to Courtney, "Listen." Courtney pushed her ear closer to Portman's seat.

"No, the team's a drag!" Portman laughed, "Listen, hop onto the train at forty-sixth street. When you get off, follow the signs to UCLA. I'll meet you out in front of the dorm that's labeled 'Reilly Hall' at midnight, okay? I'm really sorry, Jo! See ya' later." With that Portman hung up the phone and restarted his music. Courtney looked down at her watch. It was seven o'clock.

"Yeah, I want you to come tonight. Then, at midnight, we'll see who comes to meet Portman," Adam smiled mischievously.

Their plans didn't go like they wanted them too. As Courtney was changing for that night, there was a sharp knock on the door.

"Come in," she yelled. Coach Bombay entered the room.

"I came to ask you if you would please keep an eye on Charlie tonight? He isn't looking too good. Come to think of it, neither are you. Do you feel all right? You look pale."

"I'm fine. I promise," Courtney voiced.

"Okay. Well…just watch Charlie, will ya'?" He pleaded.

"Do I have a choice?" Courtney asked.

"No," Coach Bombay laughed. Courtney nodded her head reluctantly. She rushed down the stairs to tell Adam she couldn't come.

"What!? But-but…then I have to go by myself with Portman? Can't someone else keep an eye on Charlie?" Adam yelled.

"I have no choice," Courtney mumbled.

"Where you takin' me?" Portman asked coming down the steps. _Somewhere fast I hope,_ Adam thought to himself.

"Not sure," Adam gulped. Portman turned and glared at Adam. There was an awkward silence.

"Better be fancy, rich boy," Portman snarled. They walked out the doors still grumbling.


	11. Chapter 11

Courtney returned to her room and studied for her history test. Periodically, she would walk into Charlie's room to see how he was. She didn't see the need for Charlie to have someone check up on him. He was doing just fine! It eventually dawned on Courtney that maybe the coach just wanted her to stay away from Adam and Portman so that Adam would really get to know him.

Adam returned later than night with a big smile on his face. She smiled as he opened the door.

"What did you do?" she asked accusingly.

"Portman's not that bad," he laughed, "he's kinda cool." Courtney wondered skeptically what they had done.

"Adam, are you feelin' okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine. I'm serious. He's really cool."

"Okay, whatever you say," Courtney sighed, "Just remember, midnight."

"Oh, yeah. Okay. I'll turn on my alarm and I hope it goes off," he replied.

Courtney easily fell asleep that night. She was worn out from their practice and all the excitement. She couldn't believe it had only been one day in Los Angeles. It felt like so much longer!

Dean looked at his watch, it was eleven forty-five._ 'I better go out the window and then jump into the tree.'_ Portman listened to the sounds around him. _'Ok the other three are asleep at least I think so. It's hard to hear a thing with the storm outside.' _Dean thought. He got out of his bed and quietly made his way to the window. He opened it slowly and without much noise. Quickly and quietly he slipped through the window, jumped out to the tree and climbed down. Once on the ground he jogged over to the entrance of the dorm. He was thankful for the little canopy on the roof that hung over the side that kept him for the most part dry. He had only to wait for about five minutes before he caught sight of his girlfriend. Her bleached hair made her easy to spot at night.

He yelled out to her over the storm, "Jo over here." Jo heard him and jogged over to him.

"Hey, have a good practice?" Jo asked giving him a hug and a kiss.

"It was Ok. You're soaking wet! It must really be poring out there? Hey give me your bag," Dean said kindly after retuning her kiss.

"Yeah, I know I'm soaking wet. The rain just came out of now where. It's okay, my bag's not that heavy," Jo replied shifting her bag on her shoulder.

"Ok. At least take this instead," Dean answered sweetly taking off his jacket and wrapping it over his girlfriends' shoulders.

"Thanks"

"No problem. Come on let's get inside." They walked over to the double doors only to find them both locked. "Great! Perfect! They're locked," Dean stated sarcastically.

Courtney awoke to the sound of heavy rain thudding against the window. She looked to the window in time to see a bolt of lightning. It lit up the room. Courtney saw that Adam was awake too. She got up and sat down on his bed.

"That was really bright," Adam remarked.

"Yeah. I'm just waiting for the thunder," she whispered. They waited a few seconds and the thunder came with a giant _BOOM_! Courtney felt the bed shake. Adam sat up and wrapped his arms around Courtney.

"At least we're not on the top floor. If this gets to be a really bad storm then it's a good thing we're lower to the ground," Adam joked.

"I know, but we're not that low to the ground. It's the third floor! Boy, it's really comin' down out there!" The rain hit the window fiercely. Courtney pulled a few of Adam's covers over her.

"Are you cold?" he asked sweetly. She shrugged. He tightened his grip a little. There was a small groan from the top bunk and there was a small creak as Dwayne shifted his weight.

"What's goin' on?" Dwayne asked sleepily.

"Storm," Connie whispered from her bunk. Courtney looked up startled. She hadn't realized that Connie was awake too.

"These are the type of storms we used to have back at home in Texas. Only, they were a lot worse than this," Dwayne muttered as he climbed down from his bunk. To Courtney's relief, Dwayne sat down on her bed instead of Adam's. Connie jumped down from her bunk and sat down on a beanbag chair next to Courtney's bed. Connie turned on a small lamp and pulled out her history book. She began flipping through the pages. The three of them stared at her.

"What?" she asked, "As long as we're up I may as well study for our test tomorrow." They all laughed. The light suddenly went out. They were left with the light that shimmered in through the window from the moon.

"Don't tell me we lost power?" Courtney whined

"We sure did," Adam replied looking at a digital clock on the wall. Adam suddenly remembered that they were going to see who met Portman out front. If the power was out, then his alarm wouldn't be able to go off! _Would he wait outside in this mess?_ He wondered.

"How am I supposed to study now!?" Connie whined. Courtney heard groans from the room next to them, which told her they weren't the only ones up.

"Courtney?" Adam whispered into her ear, "What time is it? Is it close to midnight?" Courtney had forgotten about that. She looked down at her watch. She had forgotten to take it off earlier that night. It was eleven fifty-eight. She lit up the watch and showed it to Adam. He nodded. "Do you think we should go look?" Adam asked. Courtney shook her head.

"It's awful out there! In a few minutes we can go look out of the window and watch to see if anyone's there," Courtney whispered back. Connie turned the page in her history book and let out a gasp. She held out a newspaper from the previous year.

"Let me see!" Courtney exclaimed. Connie handed her the paper and a startling thought crossed Courtney's mind.

"Guys, didn't four teenagers get kidnapped from UCLA last week?" she asked slowly.

"Yeah," Adam replied, "from a dorm right down the street." He started to breathe hard. He let go of Courtney and backed up against the wall.

"That wouldn't happen to us," Dwayne said defiantly. Courtney looked down at the paper in her hand. The front page read:

"Five local teens kidnapped from UCLA dorms"

Courtney shoved the paper in Adam's face. He held it out in front of him and read the title aloud. Connie gasped. Dwayne didn't say anything.

"It happened a year ago, too!" she yelled. Adam met eyes with Dwayne.

"It did?" Dwayne asked quietly. Adam nodded.

"Yeah, it did happen a year ago. Don't you remember hearing about it on the news? They found the five kids three months later. Well, they found their skeletons at least. Whoever kidnapped them had killed them. They were found in a ditch somewhere in Oregon. They never caught the guy who did it. They're still looking for him to this very day. They haven't been able to track anything down about him except his gender," Adam whispered solemnly. As soon as he finished his sentence there was a creak near the window seal.

"What was that?" Connie cried, clutching her history book.

"Just the building. Old buildings tend to settle a lot during storms like this," Dwayne explained. No one looked at one another. Finally, Dwayne spoke again.

"We would be able to fight back, anyway. We're hockey players! We're tough! That would never happen!" He shouted.

"Dwayne's right! We're being paranoid," Adam responded bravely. Another clap of thunder made Courtney jump.

"I dunno guys. It's a scary thought. Five teens disappeared a year ago and four teens disappeared a week ago. I know the chances of us being kidnapped aren't very good, but there's still that small percentage that it could happen," Courtney sighed in panic.

"Who's being paranoid? Look!" Connie screamed. The three of them followed her gaze and caught sight of a figure moving outside their window. It started moving closer. Courtney swallowed her scream. Adam shoved them behind a bunk bed where they were hidden from view.

"Shh! Be quiet. Don't let 'em know you're here. Courtney, you okay?" he whispered.

"She's scared, duh! So am I!" Connie whispered angrily.

"You ladies will be fine with us, I promise," Dwayne cut in.

They sat in silence as a hand pushed up the window. Courtney saw tears shimmering down Connie's face. _Can this really be happening?_ Courtney thought. One figure had moved into the room. Then, they held out their hand for a second figure to come through. The second figure slid the window shut and sat down on the floor. Courtney heard the first one whisper something to the second one, but she couldn't understand what it was. They waited for the two people to do something, but all they did was sit there. Courtney was confused. _They had just broken into a dorm room and all they did was sit below the window? Maybe these were just homeless people?_ Courtney pondered. Courtney heard an electrical whirl and the lamp popped back on. The light from the lamp lit up the room with a flash. It allowed all six people in the room to see each other.

Courtney held her breath and Connie screamed. Adam and Dwayne jumped up, ready to fight, as the two people who had climbed through the window jumped up too. Courtney let out her breath of air when the light hit their faces. Portman stood in front of them soaking wet. He stood before a girl who didn't look much older than them.

"Portman?" Dwayne asked stunned, "What do you think you're doing, climbing in our window in the middle of the night?!" Adam stared at Portman waiting for the answer.

"Duh! It's raining outside!" Portman stuttered.

"Duh! Why were you out there in the first place?" Adam said sarcastically. Portman glared at him. Courtney stared at Adam realizing that he was trying to get Portman to admit that he was meeting someone outside of their dorm.

"I wanted some fresh air. Just listen to me, it was raining so I had to get in. The door was locked and this was the only window that was unlocked!" Portman shouted.

"How'd you get to the window?" Dwayne questioned.

"I climbed the tree that was outside. Then I jumped onto the balcony. The door was locked so we went through the window," Portman replied coolly.

"Who's she?" Connie asked curiously. Connie had a worried look on her face that told everyone she was worried about how Guy would react to this new girl. Courtney turned her attention to the girl standing behind Portman. She had bleached blonde hair with black bangs. She was a little bit shorter than Portman. Portman turned to the girl.

"Uh, this is Jo. She's my little sister. I had to bring her here 'cause our parents are in Australia and I couldn't leave my sis at home alone." Connie seemed pleased with that answer.

"You two don't look alike," Dwayne pointed out. He was right. They didn't look alike at all.

"Well, I look like my mom and he looks like our dad, you got a problem with that?" Jo spat at him.

"Well, she definitely has Portman's attitude," Courtney whispered to Adam. Adam nodded his head in agreement.

"Where did you think you were going? Did you think you were just gonna sit in here all night? And you're gonna have to tell the coach about her," Adam remarked.

"I will," Portman, said quietly, "Do you have any empty rooms?"

"Yeah, follow me. I can't believe I'm doing this for you," Adam sighed depressed. Portman smiled and followed Adam out of the room.

Fulton was standing outside of their door when they opened it.

"Hi guys," he smiled nervously.

"Fulton, what are you doing?" Adam sighed angrily.

"Uh, I heard people talking and I was curious, so I was listening."

"Don't you mean eavesdropping?" Jo asked. Fulton paused and looked at her.

"I didn't know we were getting another girl," he said dreamily.

"We're not. This is Jo, Portman's little sister," Adam mumbled. Jo shoved past Fulton to follow Portman to their room. Fulton still stared at her as she walked down the hall.

Adam opened the door to an empty room. Portman looked around. It was a smaller than room they were just in. There were only two twin beds in the room. It smelled musty inside.

"I'm gonna get my stuff from the room I was in before and bring it in here. Where's your stuff," Portman asked Jo.

"On the balcony still. Can you please get it for me?" she requested. Portman nodded and quickly walked out of the room.

"Are you really his sister? Because Dwayne's right, you guys look nothing alike. You would have to at least have some traits in common and you don't. And don't give me your 'I look like my mom he looks like our dad' crap, 'cause I'm a very smart guy and I know a lot about genetics," Adam replied cleverly. Jo didn't answer him at first. She was doing some deep thinking. Adam waited patiently for her answer.

"Maybe my mom isn't Portman's mom, did you ever think of that?" she said through fake tears.

"Oh, are your parents divorced? I'm really sorry," Adam replied sincerely. Jo was able to fake a few more sobs. Portman returned and Adam hastily left shutting the door behind him. He stood next to it listening for a few more minutes.

"We get the dumpy room," Jo complained.

"Well at least it's a room. Just go to sleep, you look beat."

"I am! It's a good thing you came up with that 'she's my sis thing!" Jo complimented him.

"Thank you," Portman replied proudly. Adam thought for a minute. _What's going on?_ He wondered. _If she isn't his sister who is she?_ Adam left to get back to his room.

"They don't look much alike to be related," Dwayne said as Adam walked through the door. He didn't tell them about what he heard Portman and Jo say. As his roommates sat up and talked, he covered his head with his sheets and fell asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

"Adam what's wrong?" Courtney asked the next day during history. He looked like he had been up all night, yet she knew he hadn't been.

"Nothing," he replied grumpily.

"I doubt it's nothing. Something happened that you're not telling me about," she accused him.

"Maybe something did. But I can't tell you until I'm sure of what's going on. It's all too confusing. This new girl, I mean what do we really know about her? She could be some girl Portman found on the streets for all we know! The coach is gonna blow a gasket when he hears about her! I don't wanna be there when the coach finds out," Adam whispered. Courtney looked up at Ms. MacKay. She wasn't looking around the class.

"What do you know Adam? I know you know something. Jo's not off the streets. You heard Portman, she's his little sister and he had to bring her along. The coach should understand that," she responded.

"Don't believe everything you hear, Courtney. Sometimes people aren't as trustworthy as you make them out to be," Adam said annoyed.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" she asked hotly.

"Ahem." Courtney glanced up to see Ms. MacKay standing in front of her. _Uh-oh_, Courtney thought. _Adam's still got his test so this looks an awful lot like cheating. _Courtney looked down at her desk to avoid making eye contact with Ms. MacKay.

"Should I separate you two?" Ms. MacKay asked. They both shook their heads. "Okay, then, please stop talking. People are still taking tests." She walked back to her desk and began to grade papers. She looked back up at Courtney and smiled slightly. Courtney should have known she wouldn't get in trouble. Ms. MacKay knew Courtney would never cheat.

Courtney turned her attention back on Adam. Courtney knew something was going on. _Adam doesn't take this long with tests. His concentration is gone because he's worrying about something, but what? _Courtney stared at Adam. He was in a daze staring straight ahead at the chalkboard. What had he meant some people aren't as trustworthy as you make them out to be? Courtney had to find out what Adam knew. She decided that after class, she would keep a close eye on Portman to see what he did.

Ms. MacKay collected the tests that were still out. Adam looked tense and frustrated. _If I'm gonna follow Portman for the rest of the day, I may as well make sure my boyfriend is relaxed,_ Courtney decided. She wondered what would help him relax. _Something at the beach_, she wondered. Then it hit her-_volleyball!_

"Adam, how about a game of volleyball?" she suggested as people filed out of the classroom. He nodded his head with a smile. Courtney sighed happily.

"Oh, volleyball! Can we come too?" Connie cut in excitedly.

"Yeah!" Guy yelled excited. Courtney shrugged.

"I don't see why not. That way we could do two on two!" Courtney smiled. The four of them started back to their dorm rooms to change.

Courtney waited outside the bathroom door for Adam to get out. Connie walked to her side and waited as well.

"Courtney, what's going on with Adam? Is it just me or did he seem kind of…out of it today? Usually in class he answers all the questions and finishes his test first. Instead, he turned in his test last and was so quiet it was like he wasn't even there!" Connie said puzzled. Courtney laid her clothes down on the floor and slid down to join them. Connie did the same.

"It's not just you. Something's going on and I've got to find out what it is. He's so tense today. He might just be tired, but I doubt it," Courtney replied. A few moments later, the bathroom door creaked open and Connie was left in the dark about the situation just as Courtney was.

Jo spotted four of Dean's teammates coming toward them. She recognized three of them from the night before but one she didn't remember seeing. _'Great! What do they want? Probably went to their coach blabbing about me! Even though Dean told them he would tell the coach!' _Jo thought angrily as the four hockey teens approached.

"We noticed that you were gonna play volleyball and we were about to do the same thing. We were just wondering if you wanted to play a game with us," the girl named Courtney explained.

"Sure. The teams can be us two against you four. I'm sure it'll be fun. Well, at least for us it will. I'm not so sure about you. Trust me, it'll be even enough," Jo said coolly. _' Dean and I will be able to take these guys down easily. We are more than a match for them.'_

"Girls verse boys," Courtney said through gritted teeth. _ 'She obviously doesn't like me_._'_ "We're the majority and that's what we chose."

"Portman, do you want to play girls verse guys? We could totally whip them! It'd be a lot of fun and this could be our workout for the day so we don't have to go running later on tonight," the light brown haired boy suggested. He wasn't in the dorm room last night so Jo didn't know his name. Dean thought for a minute and nodded.

"Okay," he shrugged_. 'What is he thinking? Great now I have to team up with two people who probably hate the very sight of me,'_ thought Jo.

Jo noticed the smirk she received from Courtney. _'So she wants a fight does she? Well I guess I will just have to give her one.'_ Jo wasn't scared of Courtney or anyone else on her team. _'She isn't that big of a threat to me. But that Adam kid, he didn't even look up at me or Dean. He knows something about us. I just know it.'_ Jo thought as they all made their way to the volleyball net.

It was a perfect day for volleyball. The sand was warm and the breeze was perfect. It made for a day not too hot, but not too cool. There was an open net without anyone near it. Adam finally seemed to have relaxed. He was happily engaged in the conversation. As they walked to the net, Courtney noticed Portman and Jo.

"Look!" she shouted. Everyone turned to look at them. Adam wasn't smiling anymore. Courtney frowned as she saw the same worried expression on Adam's face.

Portman was carrying a volleyball in one hand and held Jo's hand in the other. Courtney glanced back at Adam who looked confused.

"Who's that?" Guy asked loudly, his voice filled with interest. Courtney glared at Guy just as Connie was doing. "What? What'd I say?" Guy asked innocently. "You're much pretty than her anyway!" he added.

"Portman and his sister, Jo," Adam replied dully.

"What's going on?" Courtney stuttered.

"I'll tell you what's goin' on. Portman's got a soft side! At least we know he cares about one thing…family!" Guy yelled. That wasn't what Courtney was thinking, but Guy could be right. She turned to Adam.

"You don't think they're…" she trailed off. Adam shrugged, not sure of what was going on.

"Let's see if they wanna play," Connie suggested. Adam shook his head.

"It won't hurt to ask. How 'bout girls verses guys," Courtney tempted. She thrived for good competition. Guy gave Adam a pleading look. Courtney and Connie put on sad faces.

"Ok!" Adam reluctantly cried.

"Yes! We'll cream ya'!" Guy retorted. He clapped his hands together and smiled happily. "Oh boy…this will sure be fun!"

"That's what _you_ think! You've never seen me play volleyball before," Connie bragged. Adam unwillingly followed them over to Portman and Jo. He stared down at his feet and wouldn't look them in the face. Thankfully, he wasn't the one to ask the if they wanted to play. Courtney cautiously approached Portman.

"We noticed that you were gonna play volleyball and we were about to do the same thing. We were just wondering if you wanted to play a game with us," she explained.

"Sure. The teams can be us two against you four. I'm sure it'll be fun. Well, at least for us it will be, I'm not so sure about you. Trust me, it'll be even enough," Jo said coolly.

"Girls verse boys," Courtney said through gritted teeth. She didn't like this girl at all. She tried to act tough and Courtney couldn't stand people like that. "We're the majority and that's what we chose." Guy saw the hatred on her face and stepped up.

"_Portman_, do _you_ want to play girls verse guys? We could totally whip them! It'd be a lot of fun and this could be our workout for the day so we don't have to go running later on tonight," Guy suggested. Portman thought for a minute and nodded.

"Okay," he shrugged. Courtney gave Jo a smirk as if to _'Oh too bad for you, sucker!'_

"You might wanna be careful with her. She doesn't look too friendly," Connie whispered. Courtney glared at Connie.

"Well if she's not, then I won't be either. I can take care of myself, Connie. Thanks anyway." Adam heard Courtney say she could take care of herself, but he was still worried about her. Jo was probably tougher than Courtney. Courtney seemed like the type of person that could fight, but only in a situation where she had too. Adam was sure she could fight, he'd seen her fight, but he still didn't wanna see her and Jo in one.

The teams each went to their side of the net. The girls started to strategize. Connie knew the most about the game, so the girls agreed that she should be the one to take over and lead.

"We don't have enough players to fill every position so we'll work with what we've got. If the ball is closest to you, get it. If it's somewhere in the middle, whoever thinks they can get it, just yell out 'I got it!' okay?" Jo and Courtney nodded. The guys were already done when the girls went to their position.

Portman served for the boys first. It went over the net and Connie hit to Courtney who spiked it.

"Score one for the girls!" Connie shouted. The girls high-fived and the boys grumbled. Unlike the boys thought, the girls dominated the game and won fourteen to zero. They played until the beach slowly emptied.

"Told you we'd win! Never underestimate the power of women!" Connie shouted at the end of the game. They all laughed and started walking down the beach. Courtney had her head rested on Adam's shoulder and Connie walked hand-in-hand with Guy.

"I love my baby sister," Portman said taking Jo's hand. _Well, I guess Guy was right. Portman's just soft for his family,_ Courtney thought. The ocean water was warm as it softly knocked onto their feet. The sand was cold as it squished between their toes. The sun was setting behind the clouds in the distance creating an orange sky dashed with colors. The breeze fluttered around them. Whoever thought they could be playing hockey games in a place that was so warm! When they turned back around to get to the dorms, the sun was completely down and the moon glistened on the splashing waves. Adam sighed happily and kissed Courtney on the forehead. She hoped that was a good sign. Maybe tomorrow Adam would be his old self again.

Courtney wasn't sure how far they had walked. Nothing looked familiar but she didn't care. The coach didn't actually check to see if anyone stood by the curfew rule. They could be out there all night and it wouldn't matter. Still, Guy wanted to be back as soon as they could since they had all ready been out past curfew. The streetlights were all ready on and all the lights in the dorm were turned off. They quietly opened the doors and tiptoed upstairs.

Courtney fell asleep the minute her head hit the pillow. Nothing woke her up that night and she could barely get up in the morning. Connie shook her vigorously to wake her up. She rolled over onto her side and looked up. She blinked a few times to get a clear vision.

"Get up!" Connie shouted.

"All right!" she screamed. She got up and grabbed some clothes from her blue duffel bag.

Connie and Courtney were both late to class that day. They bolted out of their room and ran straight into Jo.

"I overslept," Jo panted.

"Yeah, us too," Connie replied. Courtney unwillingly smiled at Jo. Jo didn't return the smile.

"So, does your coach know I'm here?" Jo asked. Courtney shook her head. "Well, this will be fun, then!"

"Don't count on it," Courtney responded. "I don't think he'll deal well with you. Maybe you should meet Ms. MacKay before you meet the coach. She'll be much nicer and she'll be able to sweet talk the coach for you." Jo shrugged. "Look, I'm sorry we didn't quite get along. I should've been nicer to you," Courtney said sticking her hand out. Jo stared down at for a long time. Courtney was about to pull her hand back when Jo took her hand and shook it. Connie smiled and rushed them along to class.

Ms. MacKay had all ready started class and was onto Geography. Connie cleared her throat as she opened the door. Ms. MacKay looked up from the map. Connie motioned for her to come to the back of the room.

"Um…this is Jo, she's Portman's little sister. She has to stay with him and no one has told the coach yet. We were hoping maybe you could help us 'cause you know how the coach gets." Ms. MacKay nodded.

"Okay. I'll help. However, first she's gonna need to find a seat. You may not be on the team, but you still need to learn. I'm Ms. MacKay and I will be your teacher until you get back home. So, you're Dean's sister?" she asked. Jo looked from Connie to Ms. MacKay and finally nodded her head.

Ms. MacKay introduced Jo to the team. A few already knew her from previous encounters.

"Fulton, stop drooling," Connie whispered. He scowled at her then looked back to Jo. Courtney didn't think Fulton got much learning done. If he did, he was learning things about Jo and not things related to school. On countless occasions Connie and Courtney had to slap Fulton back to reality.

Courtney was glad when they were permitted to leave. She went straight to the dorm to get some sleep. She needed some rest before they had practice later that night. As Courtney was falling asleep, she heard Averman and Luis whispering in their room. She edged closer to the wall. Luckily, it wasn't very sound proof.

"I gotta tell the coach, man," Luis whined. Courtney heard someone shifting.

"He'll bench you if he knows you're hurt," Averman exclaimed. Courtney still moved closer to the wall. They must have moved farther away because the sound was more muffled.

"I've got too. I know he'll bench me, but my ankle is killing me! I shouldn't have ignored it. Now, it only hurts more! I'm sorry, man. I'll tell him tonight at practice. At least that gives him time to find a replacement," Luis explained.

"Can you at least wait until we start playing games? You're playing fine at practice," Averman whined.

"Okay. It does feel a little bit better today. Maybe that means the worst is over and it's getting better." Just as he finished, Dwayne opened the door.

"What're ya' doin' down there?" he asked. Courtney thought quickly.

"Well, uh…I thought I dropped something."

"Oh, I see. Well don't let me bother ya', I'm just getting' my books so I can finish my homework," he sighed. Courtney got up and lay down on her bed.

"Dwayne, you never told me about when you were a Hawk. Do you have time?" He slowly laid his books onto of his bed and sat down next to her. He sighed and looked into her eyes.

"Well, you know how that team is. Everyone's out to win. Coach Reilly always pressures you to do better and I didn't like that, neither did my dad. I kept playing, though. I got yelled at if I made the slightest mistake. He had something against me, I think. He never did like people who were from the country. I remember my parents talking about how he had called me a hick when he was talkin' to another parent. So when my dad got a job offer in Texas, he was eager to take it. He knew I would like it there 'cause where we were moving had a pretty good hockey team. When we moved there, I started playing on that team and absolutely loved it. My dad didn't feel bad about moving our family," Dwayne explained. Courtney nodded, understanding it all now.

"So, basically…he made fun of you and ridiculed you?" she asked. Courtney couldn't tear her eyes from his. They looked so familiar.

"Yup. That's it. I never liked him much. He definitely had his favorites on the team," he replied sadly.

"I'm sorry," Courtney whispered sympathetically. Dwayne nodded and left the room.

Courtney tried to get to sleep, but it was hard. People kept coming in and out of the room. People who weren't even staying in that room kept intruding. When someone knocked on the door for about the millionth time, she shouted for them to go away. They knocked again.

"GO AWAY!" She screamed. The doorknob turned and in walked Coach Bombay. Courtney sat up. "Sorry, coach. I didn't know it was you. It's just that everybody keeps coming in here!" Courtney apologized.

"It's okay," Coach Bombay laughed. "I came to talk to you because Russ told me you had an idea about how to get Portman and Jesse to get along. We need that before the games start. It's very important that you guys can play as a team. I think whatever your idea is, we're gonna have to throw Fulton in there too, because he's not getting along so hot with Portman now, either." Coach Bombay explained panting. Courtney nodded and wondered where to begin.


	13. Chapter 13

Later that evening, Coach Bombay got his team on the bus and brought them to a nice Italian restaurant about an hour and a half away from the dorms. Courtney saw Jo getting on the bus behind Portman and wondered if the coach knew she was coming with them. When they arrived at the restaurant, Coach Bombay got off the bus first and led the team inside. Adam and Courtney watched as Portman pushed Jo out of view from everyone else.

"How do you plan on getting her past the coach?" Courtney asked Portman suspiciously.

"You'll see," Portman replied mysteriously.

They walked into the restaurant and gasped. There were tiny wows among the group. The restaurant, as the coach had told them, was a little different than most fancy restaurants. For one thing, they didn't have to dress up!

"What're we doing here?" Goldberg asked in awe.

"We're here to eat. Then you'll see," Coach Bombay answered. The waiter got the team four tables. Courtney happily sat down across from the television that was suspended above a picture of a family with their dog. A quiz show was playing and she and Jo competed against each other. Jo had pulled her table and connected it with Courtney's table. At Courtney's table, Connie was seated on her left and Adam on her right. In-between them sat Guy. At Jo's table, Portman was seated on her right and Dwayne on her left. Charlie was sitting between Portman and Dwayne and looked very uncomfortable.

"What _are_ we doing here? I mean, why did we come here? It's so far away!" Guy asked from across the table.

"I dunno," Courtney lied. She knew the truth but she couldn't tell anyone else because they were likely to spread it around. This was step one of Courtney's plan. She had to get Jesse, Portman, and Fulton away from the area they knew. They had to be far enough away from the dorms to someplace where they could get lost.

They all waited patiently for their food to come. Courtney and Jo were still watching the television. Everyone else was getting into the game too.

"Who was president during the Watergate break in?" the quiz show announcer asked.

"Oh! Richard Nixon!" Courtney shouted before Jo could open her mouth. Jo shook her head smiling. "What's the score now?" Courtney asked Adam excitedly. He looked down at the napkin he had been writing on.

"The two teams are now tied at forty-four," he said mocking the announcer, "And now it's time for a commercial break. Don't go away!" Everyone laughed.

Coach Bombay came around to each table checking to make sure they were doing okay. He stopped at Courtney's table and looked curiously at Jo. She was wearing a hat over her blond hair that made her eyes hard to see.

"Who is this?" the coach demanded.

"Uh…this is-" Guy started, but was cut off by Jo.

"I work here. Occasionally this restaurant chooses certain workers to sit with the customers and see their reaction to the food and the surroundings. I'm in training here so it also helps me to deal with the customers better," Jo explained.

The coach nodded, apparently buying her lie. He turned to Courtney and gave her a small thumbs up that no one else saw. The first part of her plan was a success. She nodded her head and continued the game.

"Come on! Next question! Hurry up! What's the next question?" Courtney cried impatiently.

"Who ordered the Lasagna?"

"What?" she asked confused. "Oh! Guy did! Yes! Another point! Wait a minute…" Courtney turned around and saw the waiter handing out food. "Oh," Courtney whispered blushing. Adam laughed and patted her on the back.

"Well, you won with the daily double! Tell her what she's won!" he shouted in his announcer voice.

"A plate full of Fettuccini Alfredo!" Guy shouted along with Adam. Everybody laughed. The waiters continued to hand out the food. The conversations died down a little after that. Courtney saw one of the waiters taking an aspirin and knew he was glad that were much quieter now.

The team walked out of the restaurant with full stomachs. One by one they climbed the steps to the bus and leaned back in their chairs. Portman just barely made it back onto the bus before the doors were shut.

"Where were you?" Fulton demanded jealously.

"What's it to ya?" Portman replied angrily, shoving Fulton the side, climbing onto the bus. Courtney guessed it had something to do with Jo, but she shook the feeling off when she remembered she had a plan to finish.

"Where to now, coach?" Courtney yelled, setting up the next part of the plan.

"Well, that's a good question. Okay, now guys get a grip until I finish the sentence, okay? You'll like the end part, I promise. We're gonna go down to another part of the town, okay? We're gonna go to some of the shops."

"What!?" Russ shouted in disbelief, "We're goin' on a shopping spree?!"

"Russ, listen. There aren't just clothes shops down there! There are a lot of sports shops too, and there's also a YMCA down there. I decided this would be more fun then having practice. Anyway-If you go to the Y, then it'll kind of be like practice anyway!" Coach Bombay shouted. The boys all whooped and hollered. Connie plugged her ears.

Coach Bombay made sure everyone heard him yell, "Be back here at nine o'clock sharp!" Courtney glanced down at her watch. It was Six o'clock. She and Connie split off from the rest of the group and went to a clothes store. Courtney had advised Connie to bring money with her and Connie was grateful for that. They each bought a pair of new clothes and a bathing suit, then headed over to the YMCA. Connie had chosen a bikini with USA colors and stars and stripes.

"Going the patriotic way, are we?" Courtney joked with her. Courtney had bought a purple bathing suit with blue waves across the middle and a pair of blue board shorts. They quickly changed, stuffed their belongings in a locker and ran to the pool. The pool was empty, except for a few people. Apparently, Averman had done the same thing as them. He was wearing orange swimming trunks with the tag still attached.

"Um…Averman? Did you forget something?" Courtney laughed.

"No, I don't think so," he replied confused.

"Your tag!" Connie pointed out.

"Oh," he mumbled blushing.

Connie retrieved a pair of fingernail clippers to get the tag off. After a few minutes of swimming around, they became board and asked the lifeguard for a beach ball and hit that around until some of the other boys showed up.

Jo walked in with Portman and called Connie and Courtney over to her. They decided to play Chicken while Courtney waited for Adam. When he showed up, he and Courtney went to the hot tub and sat together for awhile. Adam was the only boy wearing a white T-shirt and a pair of red swimming trunks. He and Courtney watched the others play Chicken in the pool.

"Oh look over there! It's Brittany Spears!" Jo shouted in awe. Averman swirled his head around and Jo easily pulled him down, laughing.

Connie was also laughing at Averman and Jesse took that as an opportunity to get her out. Connie fell into the water with a _splash! _Now it was just Jesse and Jo. They stared at each other and Jo instructed Portman to move her closer to Jesse. She reached around for Jesse's back and just barely missed pulling him off. Jesse tried the same thing, but Jo was too quick and pushed him off without thought. The first game was over. Jo and Portman had won. Courtney had talked Adam into playing Chicken and she pulled him out of the hot tub.

The teams were already formed when Courtney and Adam got into the water. Averman was on the shoulders of Goldberg and Jo and Portman were on the same time. Connie was getting onto Guy's shoulders and Jesse was on Fulton's.

"Come on!" Jo shouted, "You're just in time for the next game!"

"Charlie's the ref 'cause he's the most trustworthy. You think you can take us?" Fulton challenged.

"Okay," Courtney grinned, accepting the challenge, "this shouldn't be too hard."

Courtney got onto Adam's shoulders and was ready to play. Everyone went for Averman and Goldberg first since Averman was the weakest. With four people pushing on him, it wasn't hard to get him down. Courtney glanced over at Jesse.

"Oh no you don't!" He shouted.

"What?" Courtney asked innocently as they slowly closed in one him. As Courtney and Adam distracted him, Connie and Guy crept up behind him. Courtney nodded to Connie and she pushed him off. Little did Connie and Guy know, but Jo and Portman were behind them. As soon as Jesse hit the water, Connie had been pushed off too. It was only Jo and Courtney now. Courtney looked around the pool to how much room she had: not much. She tried to think of a way she could get Jo off but nothing came to mind.

Adam had moved her around closer to Jo. She didn't remember telling him to do that, but maybe he knew a way to defeat them. He swerved, hardly missing touching Portman. Courtney suddenly understood what he was doing. Adam was quicker in the water than Portman, so Courtney had more mobility. She took her chance and pulled Jo down. Courtney and Jo both hit the water at the same time.

Adam and Portman stared at each other dumbly.

"Who won?" Portman asked.

"Courtney," Guy yelled.

"Jo," Fulton cried. They all looked over at Charlie.

"I don't know. It looked like a tie. How do you settle a tie?" he asked. Courtney looked at Jo. Somehow they both knew what each other was thinking. They both dived towards their boyfriends and dunked them underwater.

"That's how you settle a tie," Jo laughed.

"But we still don't know who won!" Averman exclaimed.

"Who care who won! I'm hungry!" Goldberg whined.

"Goldberg, we just ate," Connie responded. Goldberg shrugged.

"I don't care who won. I'm going back to the hot tub," Courtney mumbled. Adam followed her and they sat down once again to talk.

"This is a really nice place," Courtney said admiringly.

"Yeah," Adam replied dreamily. "Hey, why are we here? There's something more than what the coach is telling us. I think you know what it is. You can tell me. It's not like I'm gonna tell Connie or somebody." Courtney looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping.

"It's a plan I have to make them-" she jabbed a finger at Jesse, Portman, and Fulton, "to get along. We have to bring them to a place where they don't know their surroundings."

"Oh, I get it," said Adam catching on, "You want to make them get separated from the group and have to work together to get back to the dorms! And they can't just go their separate ways 'cause they don't know their way around here! That's absolutely brilliant! Did you think of that?" Courtney nodded proudly. Adam raised his eyebrows.

"I'm impressed." Courtney grinned.

At eight-fifteen, Adam and Courtney dried off and went to get ice cream. Courtney couldn't get over Adam's hair being wet like that. She kept flicking it around and making weird styles. Adam didn't mind. He just laughed. Eventually, he took Courtney's brush and combed his hair to the side. Their ice cream melted rapidly outside in the heat.

They hurried to the bus and sat down on it.

"How are you gonna leave them behind?" Adam asked. Courtney turned to Coach Bombay.

"Ready?" she asked. He nodded. He spun around to the bus driver and whispered something. When Fulton started climbing the steps, the bus driver stopped him.

"The Italian place called and said you'd left something. You too," He pointed at Jesse.

"I didn't leave anything," Jesse retorted.

"Look kid, I'm just delivering a message from your coach. He said they called and he went to look for you. So go get your stuff." Jesse and Fulton sluggishly turned around. The moment they left Coach Bombay popped up from the seat behind Guy.

"Good. That was great, Randy. I already told Portman to go to the Italian place too. So they should all meet up soon, then they'll come back to the bus to find that we're all read gone. When really we'll all be inside a few cars along the road to see how they do. I've got walkie-talkies for everyone to use. Now, I got the tiny microphone things on all three of them, okay? So we're ready. All we have to do is explain it to everyone else," Coach Bombay said to Courtney. Courtney jumped up and down in her seat thrilled. She waited for the coach to finish telling everyone.

"What if they just call a cab?" Goldberg asked.

"We've thought that through. The cab drivers will not drive anyone around, in this area, under the age of eighteen," the coach explained.

"What about if they just get directions from someone?" Luis questioned.

"We thought about that too. This is a very carefully arranged plan. Any store that they could possibly go to is closed. Didn't you wonder why I said be here at nine when I would usually say eight? They're probably still trying to figure out how to get whatever they left there back!" Coach Bombay laughed.

Everyone was assigned to a car and was to wait there until the coach told them otherwise. The cars, as he explained, belonged to friends of his in the area that were letting him use them. There were ten cars stationed around the area. Each car had the owner in it, ready to drive on if they moved farther out of the area than planned. Some of the cars had two players in, some only had one. Courtney was stationed to a car that was across from a flower shop. The streetlight that the car was under was blinking on and off. Courtney was the only one from her team in that car. The owner of the car was a woman in her early twenties. She had light blond hair and lively hazel eyes. She was very quiet and didn't look at much else besides her magazine. Courtney grabbed the walkie-talkie and turned it on and heard everyone checking in. They were referred to as their hockey numbers. Courtney heard Connie checking in.

"Eighteen here. Ready to go," she whispered.

"Good, what about ninety-six? You there?" Coach Bombay pressured.

"Yup, ninety-six good to go," Charlie replied. He sounded as if he was being squished. "Thirty-three and four here too," he added.

"Twenty-seven here. Ready to go," Courtney heard herself say.

"Good, what about ninety-nine? You there?"

"Here. And sixteen ready to go too," Adam murmured. Courtney listened as all the numbers were checked.

"Get ready, guys. Here comes forty-four with nine walking down Willow Lane with twenty-one trailing not far behind," Russ mumbled into the walkie-talkie. Courtney saw Guy poke his head up from the car at the opposite end of her street. She waved happily and he waved back.

"Hey, twenty-seven," he said over the walkie-talkie.

"Hi zero, tell me…is there any movement down there?" she asked.

"Remember if you're on Willow, talk to other people on line two. If you're on Staple, talk to people on your road on line three. If you're on Maxell-line four. Matthews- is line five. White-you're on line six and Panasonic- line seven. I think I'm the only one on that road though. Connections to other roads, which is what we're on now, is line one," Coach Bombay informed them. Courtney was sure he had said this so there wouldn't be any ideal chitchat. She turned the channel to line four.

"Hey, Guy," she said. She guessed if you were on another line, you heard it ring and it told you to change to the line.

"Hi," he replied. "I don't see anything, do you?"

"No, but this stupid light above me keeps blinking on and off. Are you the only one in your car?" she asked.

"Yeah, are you?" he asked sadly.

"Yep. I'm gonna turn back to line one and see what's goin' on, if you wanna talk on line four, just ring me." Courtney turned back to line one.

"They're arguing about something. I think Jesse said it was Portman's fault they missed the bus 'cause he wanted to go around the back to try an' get whatever they left," Charlie was saying.

"What road are they on?" Courtney asked.

"Coming onto Staple drive now," Adam stated. Courtney figured that he must have been on that road. "Whoever's on Maxell, you might wanna keep an eye open for them unless they turn. Nope, they're just standing there looking around. Come on guys, do something!" They stood there for a good fifteen minutes just looking around. Finally, they moved and Ken spoke.

"They're trying to get back to the dorms, I think. I'll let you listen to what they're saying," Ken pushed the walkie-talkie up to where they could hear what Jesse was saying.

"Okay. We should probably try an' get back to the dorms. I guess the bus driver thought we were back on and started going. It's gonna start getting cold and when it turns night around here, you don't wanna be left outside. So, I say we put aside our differences and get home. We've been arguing for long enough now. I can't be that hard to get along. So, I say we go…" Jesse trailed off as he started walking down Courtney's street.

"Coach, is it time to get out? I mean-they did just become friends?" Goldberg asked. There was a faint 'I agree!' from the distance that sounded like Averman.

"No, not yet. There's still a chance that they could get in a fight or something," The coach advised. He was right. While walking down near Courtney's car, they stopped.

"They're arguing over which way to go. Listen-" Courtney stated. She pushed the walkie-talkie to the window.

"No, Portman. It's this way," Fulton was saying.

"No-it's-not!" Portman yelled back stubbornly.

"Yeah, he's right, man. Turn left up here, then turn right. He knows what he talking about!" Jesse cried defensively.

"Listen! I know what to do. We should just try and follow from how the bus got here," Portman replied smartly. Jesse smiled at him.

"Good idea. Let's do that!" Jesse whooped. Fulton gave Portman a pat on the back.

"You are okay," Fulton expressed. Courtney gasped as she saw a teenage boy, who looked pretty tough, walking up to them.

"Uh-oh," she breathed into the walkie-talkie.

"What's going on down there?" Adam demanded. There was a hint of urgency in his voice.

"T-there's this guy. He's…h-he's trying to pick a fight with Portman," Courtney voiced.

"Great," the coach moaned.

"Courtney, is he near the car?" Adam asked quickly.

"No. I hope it stays that way," she panted.

"This is not good," the coach whined. "If he comes anywhere near that car you get out! I wasn't expecting anything like this to happen. Oh this is bad!"

"No, it's actually really good 'cause now Fulton and Jesse are helping Portman!" Courtney yelled. She watched as Jesse pushed the guy away from Portman. The guy pushed Fulton and then got slugged by Portman. Jesse moved closer to the guy, but the guy took off in a run.

"ALL RIGHT!" Portman shouted. They gave each other high-fives and Guy started talking over the walkie-talkie.

"Coach! They all stuck up for each other! They helped each other! Does that mean it's over?" He cried.

"No," Coach Bombay insisted, "Give them a few more minutes." The team silently watched from their cars as they walked down the street with their arms over each other's shoulders. The three of them were laughing like old buddies.

"_Now_ is when it's over. Be proud, guys! IT WORKED!" Coach Bombay bellowed. Courtney climbed out of her car and saw Guy running over to her. Not soon after, the rest of the team made it over to their street. Fulton and Jesse were now staring with their mouths open. Portman had just turned around.

"What's goin' on? We thought you'd left?" Fulton demanded. Adam shook his head.

"This was a plan to get you guys to be friends and realize that Portman wasn't as bad you thought," Coach Bombay answered.

"Well, it's true. He's not that bad. Who came up with this? It was ingenious!" Jesse shouted. Courtney stepped forward.

"I did," she said simply. Jesse stepped towards her and hugged her.

"Thanks," he said sweetly, "It was really awesome."


	14. Chapter 14

The next day was filled with conversations about the events of the night. Ms. MacKay had a hard time getting the team to focus. To the satisfaction of her students, she gave them the rest of the day off. It gave her a chance to rest as well. Besides, they weren't going to get anything done anyway.

Adam and Courtney headed back down to the beach with Guy and Russ. The beach was almost empty. Courtney laid on the beach and watched while Guy attempted to surf. It seemed that Russ and Adam were the ones that could actually do it. Courtney fell asleep from the heat of the sun and the gentle breeze. She woke up only when Adam kept repeatedly jabbing her arm with his elbow.

"What?" she said annoyed. The sun was directly in Courtney's eyes and it made it hard for her to keep her eyes open. Russ and Guy were throwing a Frisbee to each other a little ways down the beach. Adam prodded his finger down towards the water. Courtney saw Jo and Portman sitting on the edge of the ocean. "So what-" Courtney started, but quickly stopped when she saw them kissing.

"I don't think they're brother and sister, Courtney. I never have. I heard them talking when they were in their room. Jo said it was good that Portman came up with a fair lie so quickly. I didn't wanna tell anybody unless I was sure it was true. Yeah, I heard it with my own ears, but you know me, I don't wanna admit something until I know it's true," Adam explained. Courtney suddenly understood why Adam had acted so strangely. That information had been on his conscience.

Before Courtney could respond, Charlie ran out onto the beach yelling for them to hurry up and get to practice.

Courtney's head pounded as she skated off the ice. Coach Bombay slowly strolled up to her.

"You don't look too good. Maybe you should go lie down so you'll be rested before tomorrow's game."

"But I need to practice for tomorrow's game!" Courtney groaned angrily.

"I know, but I think it's better if you get sleep rather than practice right now. You've been practicing for a straight week now. You'll be okay. I'm gonna send Adam up there with you. Make sure you get sleep," he instructed. Courtney nodded and trudged off the bench.

Adam opened their door and Courtney sat down wearily. The coach hadn't made them do anything that was tough on them for practice. However, the fact that they had to do it over and over again was tiring. She wanted to get to sleep, but she wouldn't give in to the temptation.

"Okay, we both know that Portman and Jo aren't brother and sister. Seeing them earlier definitely proved that," Courtney sighed. Adam sat down on his bed and peeled off his pads.

"Who do we tell? Or should we keep it to ourselves? 'Cause I was thinking that maybe they shouldn't be sharing a room. They should at least be like us; share the room with other people as well," Adam suggested as took off his shirt and threw it to Courtney. She threw it onto her bunk.

"If we tell anyone, it should be Ms. MacKay. After all, she's met Jo and the coach...hasn't. Plus-"

"What?" Adam shouted in disbelief, cutting Courtney off. "The coach doesn't know about Jo yet?"

"_As I was saying_, Ms. MacKay's more understanding about stuff like this. Anyway, she _is_ supposed to be a counselor. It'd just be easier for me to talk to another girl; I dunno 'bout you," Courtney replied. She concentrated on Adam. She'd never seen him with his shirt off before. Courtney was hypnotized by his muscles. She'd never given much thought to whether he had muscles or not. He searched around for a shirt.

"Hey, here," Courtney smiled as she threw him a clean shirt. "No!" she muttered under her breath to herself. _Why'd I do that? Now, he'll put it on! _

"Thanks. Ya' know, it's nice having someone to talk to about this. All right…so we'll talk to Ms. MacKay before the game tomorrow. Then, she can tell the coach after the game, how's that?" he asked.

"Perfect," Courtney mumbled breathlessly. Adam smiled happily and laid down. He reached to turn off his light, but Courtney got there first. He looked at her confused. Courtney leaned down and kissed Adam smoothly on the lips. He pulled her down and returned her kiss.

"What was that?" Adam asked suspiciously sitting up slightly in his bed.

"Good night kiss," Courtney replied simply. Adam nodded his head.

"It was nice," he smiled. "Maybe you should give me good night kisses more often," he laughed. Courtney picked up a pillow and threw onto his head. "Hey!" he joked. Courtney laid her head down on his chest and listened to his breathing. Adam rubbed her arm soothingly. Courtney heard the rest of the team arriving from the rink and quickly got up. She gave Adam one more kiss and tried to pull away, but he wouldn't let her. They both laughed. The footsteps were getting closer as Adam let her go.

Courtney giggled and hurried to the showers. On the way out, she saw Charlie waiting just down the hall. He rushed down the hall through all the people to meet her.

"Uh…Courtney, I know about Jo too," he whispered cautiously.

"Sorry, Connie. Sorry, Dwayne!" Courtney apologized as she saw them waiting to get inside. She turned back to Charlie. "How is that you always manage to find these things out?" she asked curiously.

"I saw them at an ice cream shop when we went downtown. They were eating from the same ice cream cone and they kept kissing. From what I saw, I seriously doubt that they're related."

"Have you told anyone?" Courtney questioned. Charlie shook his head. Courtney sighed in relief. "Good, don't," she said sharply.

"I've got to stop leaving you alone with Adam!" Connie mumbled as she shut the door. Courtney jumped as she spun around and came face to face with Charlie.

"Looks like Portman and Jo aren't the only ones I need to keep an eye on," Charlie whispered in Courtney's ear playfully. Courtney's face could have easily been mistaken for a cherry at that moment.

The next morning, every team member was up and raring to go. Their first game was against Trinidad Tobago. Courtney felt ancy about talking to Ms. MacKay. Apparently, Adam was just as nervous. He clumsily fumbled with his drink at breakfast. At one point, he accidentally spilled the coffee that he had gotten for the coach on Russ. Although the coffee had been steaming and the pain on Russ' face was unmistakable, he swore it was okay. Adam apologized repeatedly. He was a mess. Courtney later caught him pouring Orange juice in his cereal and Milk in his glass. She shook her head sadly.

"Banks, you okay?" Coach Bombay asked him. Adam nodded his head without making eye contact. "You sure?" Adam nodded again. The coach gave him a quizzical stare as if he was trying to read Adam's mind. Eventually, he hung his head, sighed, and moved on.

"Calm down, Adam!" Courtney warned. "You shouldn't get yourself stressed out before a game. Everything will be better after we tell Ms. MacKay, all right? I don't want you to worry about this during the game. Ms. MacKay will take care of it do you understand me? Remember, you're here to compete _and_ have fun. So make sure you do that," Courtney voiced longingly.

Something in her voice made Adam look up at her curiously. "What?" she asked startled. Adam had a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach, but he couldn't explain it. "_What_?" she repeated.

"Nothing," he responded dreamily. It was quiet for a moment, but Adam spoke again. "It's weird how the Ducks game is so different than the Hawks, isn't it?" he asked in a muffled tone.

"What d'you mean?" Courtney shot at him.

"On the Hawks, it wasn't all that fun. You weren't there to have fun; you were there to win. On the Ducks, yeah-you compete fiercely, but you _have fun_ while you do that. I guess when I was on the Hawks, I thought it was fun because we always won our games, but I didn't realize until I was on the Ducks, that it _wasn't_ fun."

"You're right. Do you remember '_It's not worth winning if you can't win big'_? Boy, that was a big thing for Coach Reilly. I wonder if he'll ever realize that it's not just about winning; there's more to life?"

"Nope," Adam snarled, "His type don't change." Courtney noticed that the team was on their way out the door. She hurried out the door.


	15. Chapter 15

The arena was bustling with people, even hours before the game. Concession stands were being set up as well as companies selling merchandising. Courtney was startled when a representative from one of the companies rushed up to her and asked if she wanted to buy a cell phone. The man didn't look appealing. His clothing was tattered and he hadn't shaved in a long time. Courtney held her breath as a strange odor coming from the man swamped her. Carefully, with a firm grip on her cell phone, she pulled it out and showed it to him. She shook her head sharply and moved closer to Adam. He shoved her behind him to shelter her. Then, the representative pressured Adam. At that point, the coach ushered the team away from the man and into the lockers.

Adam and Courtney took Ms. MacKay off to the sides to explain about Portman and Jo. Ms. MacKay didn't look surprised. She agreed to think about a solution. She suggested that in the meantime not mentioning it to anyone else. didn't look thrilled that she was whom who have to tell Coach Bombay.

Courtney and Adam thanked her and joined the rest of the team. Charlie approached them cautiously and asked what had happened. Courtney explained to Charlie that they needn't worry about it, Ms. MacKay would take care of it.

The team sat on the bench, restlessly, waiting for their pep talk.

"Just do your best. Go out there and take it to em! You guys are number one! We're team USA and we're goin' all the way! So get out there and show em that!" the coach screamed. Everyone cheered.

Five players skated off the bench and onto the ice. Adam took the face off at center ice and passed it back to Averman. Averman slid the puck to Charlie who went down the left side, did an easy slap shot and scored. The team cheered. The crowd went wild and started chanting "USA" Courtney saw Charlie give his jersey a disgusted look.

"What?" she asked.

"We're the Ducks, not Team USA," He said in disbelief. He acted as if Courtney should've known that. She gave him an apologetic look. She looked down at her own jersey. _Charlie's right, we're the Ducks,_ it dawned on her. She skated off the ice and onto the bench.

"Coach?" she asked apprehensively. He turned, with one eye still on the game.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Why do we have Hendrix written all over jerseys? Why don't we have any sign of being the Ducks? After all, that is our team name?" Courtney questioned.

"Yeah, but we're team USA, now. Look, don't worry 'bout it. Leave that stuff up to me and Tibbles," he replied hurriedly. The next second, he had already returned to the game. "Come on Dwayne!" he shouted, "Shoot!" Dwayne shot the puck and it bounced easily off the back of the net. The siren sounded as Team USA all slapped each other's hands.

Although Courtney and Adam had spoken to Ms. MacKay previously, Adam still looked nervous. Courtney couldn't understand why.

"I'll talk to him," Charlie volunteered. Courtney made sure to sit in hearing distance of them. "Hey, Adam." Adam didn't reply. "Adam?" Charlie asked in a singsong type voice. He looked at Charlie in a daze.

"What?" he asked.

"Why are you so…nervous? You never acted like this last season. What's going on? Did your Dad tell you that if you messed up he'd disown you, or something?" Charlie joked. Adam however didn't laugh. He looked at Charlie angrily.

"Don't you ever talk about my Dad like that again, you got it?" he mumbled menacingly under his breath. Charlie scooted a little bit away from Adam, but pressed on. He threw a glance over at Courtney who shrugged apologetically.

"What's wrong then?" he asked seriously.

"There's just a lot of pressure, okay?"

"Adam, what kind of pressure? There's no pressure…" Charlie trailed off.

"Maybe not for _you_, but for me there's a lot. You see those two guys up there in the stands with business suits on?" Adam asked annoyed, as he pointed up into the stands. Charlie looked up at them and nodded.

"Those are scouts. So?" Charlie demanded.

"Those scouts are here watching me. That's the pressure. If I don't do well they don't write down good things. That's a lot of pressure on me."

"Don't pay attention to them, just play your game. If your nervous, you aren't gonna play well. Now, on the other hand, if you pretend like they aren't here and that you're just in an empty arena playing against some other team, you're gonna do well," Charlie explained slowly.

"Thanks, Charlie," Adam said appreciatively, "Thanks a lot." Charlie nodded and returned to his place by Courtney.

Trinidad Tobago proved to be an easy team to beat. Team USA whooped and hollered as the final whistle blew. The final score was nine to three. Coach Bombay stepped out onto the ice with his team and took a bow.

That night, no one slept. There was too much to talk about. Powered by their win over Trinidad Tobago, they felt like they could take on any team, even Iceland. The dorm finally got quiet late into the night. Courtney was barely awake when she heard their door squeak open. She knew she was the only one awake in their room, so she watched apprehensively as the door closed again. Silently, she watched as Goldberg, Luis, and Ken crawled over to Dwayne's bed.

"How're you gonna get to him if he's on the top bunk?" Courtney whispered, now sitting up. Goldberg let out a tiny shriek and dropped a can of shaving cream. No one woke up.

"Don't do that!" he whispered angrily. "Wait, he's on the top bunk? Oh, that won't work. Unless, he falls of his bunk…" Goldberg said mischievously.

"No!" Courtney cried. "But there might be another way. Dwayne's a real heavy sleeper, so it won't wake him up. We could pile stuff on top of each other so you could reach him. We have some coolers in the closet and we can move some of the drawers. They're stable enough, you can stand on 'em, that would work."

"No, it wouldn't because then they would wake up too. Unless we wake them up and tell them what's going on." Luis stated catching on. Courtney nodded.

"Adam's a light sleeper, so it would wake him up, but Connie will just about sleep through everything," Courtney muttered. They slowly woke up Adam and explained what they were going to do. He agreed and helped them move furniture and get things out of the closet. They were able to move the ladder from the edge of Dwayne's bed for someone to stand on. Goldberg quietly climbed up the ladder and squeezed out the shaving cream into Dwayne's hand. Luis passed him a feather and he rubbed it on Dwayne's nose. Dwayne swiped at his nose, but didn't make contact. Goldberg tickled his nose again and this time the shaving cream came off onto his nose with a _splat_! Ken snickered. He put his hand over his mouth to control his giggling. Goldberg continued to tickle Dwayne's face until it was completely covered in shaving cream. His face looked like the top of a cake covered with icing. Ken couldn't hold in his snickering any longer and he burst out laughing. Everyone else followed him. Dwayne woke up with a start. He stared for a few seconds then realized he had shaving cream all on his face. He screamed and groped around for Goldberg.

"RUN!" Goldberg shouted. Ken and Luis screamed and jolted out of the door. Dwayne hoped of his bed and chased them down the hallway. All along the hallway, doors flew open and angry shouts came from their rooms. Courtney heard Dwayne chasing the three of them up the stairs and onto the next floor. She heard Russ shout angrily from above them, "I'm tryin' to sleep here!" The footsteps continued to thud down the hall. Courtney didn't wait to figure out if Dwayne caught them, she figured that if she didn't want to be chased down the halls like them, she better get in bed and pretend like she had been asleep the whole time.

"What happened?" Connie asked from her bunk. Courtney stifled down her laughter enough to answer.

"Nothing, Connie. Just go to sleep. You don't wanna be awake when Dwayne comes back."


	16. Chapter 16

The next morning was not a pleasant one. Russ was furious with Dwayne, Goldberg, Ken, and Luis. He shouted at them all during breakfast while Portman laughed at them. Courtney couldn't help laughing, either. Many people were angry that they had been woken up in the middle of the night by screams when there was another game to be played the next day.

"Oh, shut up!" Portman shouted. "It's against Italy. Like they're not easy! We'll have ten goals in the first period!"

Portman had been right about one thing; they were definitely no challenge. The buzzer sounded just as Goldberg saved another goal for the USA. The final score was eleven to zero. The second game ended with the same enthusiasm from Team USA. They felt on top of the world. Their screams echoed through the arena as the Italy team skated solemnly off the ice. Coach Bombay, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found. Charlie saw him as walked out off the ice with a woman who was dressed in business clothes. Charlie sighed and turned back to his team.

"COACH!" Courtney shouted as she saw him leave. He turned around with an unhappy look. Apparently, he was hoping he would be able to sneak out without his team noticing. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"Uh…I have an…important business lunch back at my place," he answered. _Sure_, Courtney thought as Charlie rolled his eyes.

"Don't you love it when he does this?" he said sarcastically. "How come we have to live in a deserted dorm when he's living in an oceanfront house in Malibu? That's not fair." Courtney shrugged and skated off to the lockers.

As the team changed in the locker rooms, Coach Bombay climbed into Tibbles' limousine. Ms. Hendrix sat down on his right. He did feel a slight pain for leaving his team this early, but that feeling was taken over by the excitement of his realization that he would be meeting movie stars and sports sensations. Ms. Hendrix exclaimed to him the details of his contract with Hendrix as they made their way to his beach house. He climbed out awe struck of how many expensive cars were now parked in the street in front of the house. He turned to Ms. Hendrix.

"I think I'm gonna like it here," he sighed. She ushered him forward into the house were he was greeted by waitresses and other coaches. He smiled happily thinking '_This is the life_.' He no longer had any thought about what his team may be doing.


	17. Chapter 17

The team hadn't had a full day to themselves since they had arrived in Los Angeles. They had always had practice or school or, for the past two days, a game. Most of the players decided to check out the beach. For the few that had all ready been to the beach they merely agreed with a shrug. However, for the players that hadn't been there grinned from ear to ear and jumped at the suggestion.

The beach was full of sunbathers and kids running around with Frisbees. Among those kids were Guy, Ken, and Averman.

"Throw it here!" Guy whined. He ran around in a circle looking like a dog waiting for its owner to throw a stick.

"Guy! You're acting like a five-year-old. Stop it," Courtney demanded.

"I am not!" Guy shouted stomping his foot on the sand.

"My point exactly."

Averman threw the Frisbee but it went over Guy's head. It landed in the sand with a soft _plump_!

"Well, pick it up!" Ken shouted.

"_You_ pick it up, Averman. You threw it," Guy retorted.

"_I'll_ pick it up," Ken sighed. As Ken bent down to pick it up, another hand reached out for it. Ken straightened up and was equal to Gunnar Stall's stomach. Courtney saw Portman shoot up immediately. Fulton stood up as well. Courtney buried her head in her towel, knowing there was going to be trouble.

"Well, if it isn't the little Ducks," Gunner said teasing them. "Do you want this? Go and get it!" He threw the Frisbee straight toward the ocean.

"Hey!" Charlie shouted as he ran to join them. "What'd you do that for you?"

"I thought you needed a little exercise," Gunnar snarled at Charlie. Gunner and the rest of his team continued jogging down the beach.

"Yeah, you cowards! You better run!" Averman shouted after them. Courtney gave him a how-stupid-can-you-be- look. The Vikings stopped suddenly and turned back around. Jo slapped Averman on the back of the head.

"Idiot!" she yelled at him.

The Vikings seemed to be ignoring Averman and kept walking. The team took in a relieved sigh.

"Yeah, you big goons! Keep running!" Ken clamored.

"Shut up Ken!" Connie shouted, throwing her hand over his mouth. But it was too late. It was obvious the Iceland players weren't about to ignore his words. They were slowly creeping up on the Ducks like a Fox does its prey.

"RUN!" Charlie shouted. No one thought about it, they darted from the spots they had been standing down the beach. They ran over towels and food as they went. Angry shouts followed them, but they didn't care. They just wanted to live! They took a sharp corner into an alley and stopped immediately.

"Uh-oh," Luis whispered. Uh-oh was right. They were trapped. Before they had time to turn around and get out, the Vikings were right behind them.

Portman and Fulton shifted themselves so they were placed between Team USA and the Vikings. The two teams stared at each other for a minute, not moving.

"Well?" Olaf asked in his accent.

"Well, what?" Portman spat.

"Well, which one of you wants a broken nose first?" Without waiting for an answer from Team USA, Olaf threw back his fist and punched Fulton right in his stomach. Fulton doubled over, but straightened himself back up. Portman had jumped on one of the Vikings back.

"I've got your back!" Fulton yelled to Portman reassuringly. The rest of the team entered the fight. There wasn't a single member on either team who wasn't punching, or being punched, by someone else.

"Yeah, you aren't so tough now, are you?" one of the Iceland players laughed as Charlie was thrown backward.

"Hey, shut up you moron!" Russ warned, running full speed at him. He threw a punch right at his face. The Viking slammed hard against the ground. Goldberg stopped to laugh, but was brought down by Olaf.

Team USA was not winning this fight. It was obvious by the way players were trying to crawl away from the brawl unnoticed. However, that didn't work. When Averman tried to escape, one of the Iceland members saw him and pounded on him twice as hard. The fight didn't cease until Coach Bombay, doing an afternoon run, passed by.


	18. Chapter 18

"What am I going to _do_ with you guys?" he screamed in the doctor's office. The team was waiting for Luis to be let out. The doctor said that he might have a broken arm, which would put the team down by one.

"No more beach for you, no more Beverly Hills. Your new curfew is seven o'clock. And believe me it will be enforced!"

"But they jumped us!" Charlie shouted in defense.

"You should have had the sense to back off!" Bombay walked back and forth facing his team. He stopped at Portman. He thought he had just seen someone standing behind him. He shook it off and kept walking. "You should be smart enough to know when to back away from a fight!"

"But then we would have been cowards!" Jesse yelled back

"So what! You would have been cowards. Isn't that better than what you are now? If you were "cowards" you wouldn't be all scraped up right now. If you were "cowards" you would still have your freedom! You also gave them the mental edge over you! You need to start focusing on what you're here to do!" he spat.

"They started it! Weren't you listening earlier?!" Russ yelled.

"I heard, Russ. You should've known better than to provoke them!" The coach yelled back.

Adam and Courtney caught each other's eye. _How could he do this?_ Courtney thought, _this is totally unfair, they started it!_

The bus ride back to the dorm was quiet. Most of the team members were either sleeping or letting the feeling of failure sink in. They had a long lecture about personal responsibilities leaving the doctor's office. It hadn't been confirmed whether Luis' arm was broken or not. The doctor said they wouldn't know for a few days because the equipment was down.

When they arrived back at the dorms, Courtney took a shower and tried to fall asleep. Coach Bombay's words were ringing through her ears. He had changed so much in the last few days that you wouldn't even know he was the same person. He hardly ever spent time with the team and he was always doing "business". _Great coach_, Courtney thought, _he doesn't even sleep with his team!_

She awoke knowing that there was going to be a hard practice in store for them. This was the last day they would have practice before the big Iceland game. To Coach Bombay, the other games didn't matter. He told them that this was the game that mattered most. This game determined who would win and who would lose. She hurriedly got dressed and was ready for practice.

They hopped on the bus, but when they got to the arena, their coach was nowhere in sight. They waited for an hour…two hours…then three hours. They heatedly got up and left the arena.

"I can't believe he didn't show!" Courtney shouted to Adam. Adam nodded his head.

"It's nice having a coach who doesn't care, isn't it? I feel like I'm back on the Hawks with a coach who only cares about winning," he replied sarcastically.

As the team left, they saw a crowd of people playing street hockey. One of the members of the group was skating towards them.

The team swapped nervous glances, but Portman and Jo walked right up to him and greeted him. _Oh great_, Courtney thought, _what's this all about?_ They talked for a few minutes and turned to face the team.

"Hey Dean isn't that James?" asked Jo pointing to a guy skating up to the fence near them.

"Yeah, c'mon lets go and talk to him I have an idea," stated Dean. He and Jo skated over to James. As they skate over Jo noticed that the rest of the team had stopped and stood there watching them.

"Hey Portman, Jo. What are you guys doin here?" asked James.

"Long story short. The coach doesn't give a care about the team. He didn't even show up for practice and the team gets in trouble for defending their pride against Iceland," explained Jo.

"Ouch. Man I feel bad for you Portman," answered James

"Listen I have an idea. When I played with you and your team, I don't know but something inside me helped me play better. So I figured maybe you and your gang could give that same help to my team. They kinda need it, our next game is against Iceland and we could use all the help we can get," explained Dean. Dean was right Jo realized he had played better with the street gang then with his hockey team. Maybe this was the extra boost they needed…

"You guys wanna play some real puck?" the guy asked. Averman turned to Luis.

"What is he talking about?" Averman whispered.

"Me and my boys can teach you how to play like the real Team USA. Or maybe you forgot what it's like to play for _real_ pride."

Jesse stepped forward, "We'll play."

Goldberg glared at Jesse as if he had just made food illegal. Everyone followed Portman across the street to a small fenced in area with two trashcans, one on either side. There were a group of teenage boys waiting for them with old magazines as pads and football helmets.

"Okay y'all. Let's play," one of them shouted. He beckoned them to a court across the street that was enclosed by a wire fence. Eagerly, the players stood in their positions waiting for the game to begin.

"Wait!" Charlie yelled suddenly. He dashed back to the arena and came back out a few minutes later with his water bottle.

"You stopped us for that?" Russ spat in disgust. Charlie shrugged and got back out on the court. The puck was dropped and Jesse was knocked down. It was clear that this street gang was not going to be easy. Time after time, they would show the team something they hadn't known. Luis was aggravated about his brakes over and over again. He kept running into the fence and people. At one point, he ran in to Portman who gave him a very dirty look. Ken was grateful when the leader of the gang showed him how to deal with guys bigger than him and the entire team laughed as they saw him drop his gear and pull back on the other guys shirt like he was going to start beating up on him.

The team left much happier and in their point of view, more educated about how they should play. The score was five to one, in favor of Team USA, but if you had counted who had worked harder, then the street gang had definitely come out on top. The team felt that they truly were Team USA once again. Now, if they could only get their coach back.

Dean was glad Jo was having a good time in LA. The coach had given the team a seven o'clock curfew but to him it didn't apply to Jo because she technically wasn't on the team. He could tell she was a little nervous about going out past seven because he was on the team and he would probably get on the coach's bad side.

Whenever Dean went out on dates, which was some of the time rare he mostly thought it polite to let his girlfriend decide where to go because they were very different from each other. But things were different with Jo. They shared many of the same interests so choosing were they would be going on their dates was not a problem. They went to check out the movie theater, but the movies that were playing didn't satisfy their interests. So they decided to get something to eat at the nearby Olive Garden. Jo ended up ordering the Chicken Alfredo while Dean ordered the spaghetti. While they were waiting for their food to come Jo heard the radio play a very familiar song and smiled.

"What?" Dean asked. "What's so funny?" But, Jo only shook her head. Dean snorted slightly and gave Jo a yeah-right- look.

"Alright. Just listen to the song and I'll tell you when it finishes," explained Jo. Dean listened to the song the radio was playing and recognized it from the radio station he listened to back home. The song finally ended and Dean spoke up.

"What about the song," Dean asked. "It's by Chicago Cru right?"

"Yeah. Um… remember when I told you I was in a band?" Jo asked

"Yeah."

"Well guess what our name was."

"That was you singing that?" Dean asked in shock. He was fond of Chicago Cru whenever they came on the radio he usually turned the volume up a bit more than usual. He knew Jo had been in a band but he didn't know anything specific about it.

"Yeah that was me and the gang. I was the lead singer and one of the guitarists, Kris was the base and some of the backup for vocals, Evan was the other guitar and backup vocals and Jean played the drums. That song you just heard, I made that. Evan did about five percent of the music so I practically made the whole thing."

"What did you call it?"

"Duck and Run. To tell you the truth I'm surprised any of our songs came out of Chicago. We just figured they played our songs in Chicago only. But I guess I just got proved wrong."

"Yeah I guess so," Dean answered just as the food arrived. They ate their food in a comfortable silence. They finished their food, paid for it and tipped the waiter. Next they went to a Borders that was right across the street. Jo and Dean had different tastes in music. Jo preferred alternative metal bands while Dean liked music in the heavy metal area. They chose a few CDs, paid for them and went to a few more shops. Earlier that day Dean realized he and Jo had been going out for three weeks and decided he would get something for her when they went out that night. Dean noticed Jo had picked out a black rubber cord necklace with sky blue and silver beads with a silver wolf charm hanging from it. "My treat," Dean said sweetly taking it from Jo's hand.

"What?" asked Jo slightly confused.

"I thought I would get you something for our three week anniversary," Dean explained.

"Thanks for reminding me. 'Cause I bought you something too," Jo stated. She took out of her small backpack a necklace similar to hers only this one had a mustang and a duck charm on it and the cord was about two or three inches longer. Jo never wore, used or bought purses she hated them, so instead she always wore a small backpack. She gave the necklace to Dean. "The mustang for your old mascot, the duck for your new one," Jo explained.

"Thanks. Its great," Dean replied putting the necklace on. "Hey want to get some ice cream?"

"Yeah!" They went to pay for the necklace and left the shop. Once out side the shop Dean stopped Jo and put the necklace on her. "Thanks." They kept walking down the sidewalk when they saw the ice cream shop. Jo was about to walk towards the entrance when Dean pulled her back behind a tree so her back was against it. "What are you doing?" Jo asked a little menacingly and worriedly. She never liked to be pushed around. She also didn't like the way Dean cornered her against the tree either. It scared her because it was something Evan would do to her.

"Shh look," Dean instructed pointing to two people coming out of the ice cream shop. Jo looked in the direction Dean was pointing. She recognized the man as Coach Bombay and the woman she recognized as the trainer for the Iceland team. "What's Bombay doing with her and who is she?" Dean asked once the "couple" was out of earshot.

"Iceland. She's the trainer for team Iceland." Jo replied as they came out of their hiding place.

"Great coach I got landed with."

"Yeah. Great dad I got landed with too."

"What? He's your father?"

"Through adoption. My biological fathers name is Logan Mitchell."

"Have you told him?"

"Nope. I wanted to see how he got along with kids my age. Ya know just see what he's like."

"Yeah. I understand. C'mon I say we get back to the dorms."

"Yeah they should know about this. But let's not tell everyone just yet. Just Fulton that way the Bash Brothers can interrogate Bombay."

"I agree with that." They both ran as fast as they could to the dorms. Luckily Coach Bombay wasn't there yet. Portman went and got Fulton while Jo took their stuff to their room. Portman rushed into the room Fulton was staying in out of breath. "Hey Fulton. Me and Jo need to talk to you," Dean said trying to catch his breath. Fulton nodded and followed Portman to his room.

When they entered the room Jo was lying on the bed trying to catch her breath. When she saw Fulton and Dean come in she sat up. Dean told Fulton to sit down on his bed and Dean sat next to Jo and dove straight into what they saw at the ice cream shop.

Once Dean told Fulton about what they saw he was speech less. Jo couldn't blame Fulton, she told him not to tell anyone and he agreed. Fulton left and Jo and Dean decided to go to sleep early, the flat out sprint from the shopping center to the dorms and the events of that night had completely tired them out.

The next day, tensions were high as the team got ready to face off against Iceland. Breakfast was very quiet and no one looked at one another. Courtney had trouble getting her food down that morning. She noticed that she wasn't the only one. Hardly anyone had touched their food.

As they were loading onto the bus, Coach Bombay still wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Where _is_ he?" Charlie demanded.

"I don't know. Maybe he's at the arena," Dwayne responded.

"Who cares! He's our coach, he should be here!" Russ yelled. A few members of the team nodded their heads in agreement.

"Forget about him. Let's just get going!" Portman shouted.

* * * * Jo couldn't be more nervous even if she could. Team USA was going against Team Iceland. Everyone knew this was going to be USA's biggest and toughest challenge. Iceland was ranking at number one out of ten. USA was seated at two. Jo was just walking around the crowded stadium when her cell phone rang.

"This is Jo," Jo greeted the person.

"Hey Joey," greeted Kris using Jo's childhood nickname. "This is your cuz Kris."

"Get to the point Kris. I don't have time for one of your hour long dribble sessions," Jo begged. She knew Kris could talk for hours without getting to the point of her call.

"Well you better make time for this 'cause your gonna love this! We got a record deal!"

"What! How?"

"Well they must have heard us on the radio. They got the 411 from the DJ and got a hold of me. I told them I'd get the others. We are supposed to meat them in LA. So you don't even have to travel. Isn't this great?"

"No! This is horrible! Now this means I have to see Evan and when he finds out about Dean! I don't even want to think about what he might do to him!"

"Calm down! They didn't want Evan or Jean, only us. They asked if I knew anyone who could take their place. So I told them about Bill and Jordan.

"So we have a record deal. So when are you coming?"

"About a week. I'm going to pick up Bill and Jordan. Then we are going to an International airport. After we get in LA we go somewhere for a meeting or we pick you up and then go to the meeting."

"Okay! We finally get noticed by the public! You think they waited long enough?"

"Yeah probably," agreed Kris laughing. Jo was about to answer when she heard heavy Icelandic accents speaking. She turned her head slightly so she could find the owners of the voices. Sure enough it was Gunner and Olaf. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying but what she could understand made her heart skip a beat. "Jo? You still there?" asked Kris.

"K-Kris I-I'll…I'll call you back later," replied Jo shakily. She hung up the phone with out waiting for a reply and dashed down the hallway.


	19. Chapter 19

The bus was filled with players and started off for the arena. Quickly, they moved into the locker rooms and changed into their uniforms. Courtney sat quietly on a bench in the locker room, avoiding eye contact with anyone. Adam approached her and sat beside her.

"You nervous?" he asked shakily.

"Don't you know it!" she exclaimed.

"Me too. I don't know if we can take these guys. I mean, I'm confident but then again, I'm not. Do you understand what I mean?" he asked.

"Yes, I feel that way too. I know we're good, but they're stronger than we are and that counts in this level. I just hope we can hold our ground against these guys," Courtney whispered.

She glanced around the locker room at the others who were trying to carry on conversations to ease their nerves. Connie smiled nervously and fiddled with her thumbs. Charlie and Jesse were straightening their cubbies and Luis was reading a book, although his eyes were fixed on one spot on the page.

Just then, the door banged open and Coach Bombay strutted into the room. He was dressed in an expensive business suit and wore heavy cologne that wafted though the air. His hair was slicked back on his head and he kept straightening his jacket. At once, he received glares of disapproval. Averman took it as a chance to joke him.

"What happened to you? Did your car break down in the middle of storm?" Averman laughed. Coach Bombay chose to ignore him and continued to flip through papers. "And what about that suit? Were you planning for a wedding?"

Charlie didn't give him a chance to answer Averman's questions. "Where were you?" he demanded.

"I was attending to business and then I was stopped by a crazed fan who seemed to think something was going to happen to one of you," he explained.

"Oh," Charlie said loudly, "_Business_ stuff. I should've known."

"Charlie, what do you-"

"Excuse me," An official popped his head into the room, "It's time for the game to begin."

"You heard him guys! Let's go!" Coach Bombay shouted, ushering his team out of the room.

The Iceland team was already out on the ice doing their warm-ups. They laughed as Team USA skated onto the ice, no doubt remembering the encounter from the beach.

Once on the bench, they awaited their pep talk, but none came. Coach Bombay was on the sidelines talking with a tall man in a business suit and only returned to the bench when the referee called him over.

A few seconds later, Portman stood alongside Charlie and Jesse on the ice. At the face off, Gunnar Stahl bashed Charlie down. Portman positioned himself between the puck and Gunnar. Portman knocked Gunnar backward and Gunnar fell onto the ice. He rolled around and moaned until the referee blew his whistle.

The whole team jumped up at the call. They all knew Portman's check was clean and Gunnar was faking being hurt. The referee started to usher Portman off of the ice, but Gunnar suddenly got up and jumped on Portman as retaliation.

Once again, the whistle was blown and the two boys were separated. Fulton reached out his hand to Portman. He took it and slowly pulled himself up. Courtney frowned. The grimace on Portman's face was very familiar to her. She had seen it on Doug Paul's face only weeks ago.

She had a flashback of sitting in her den watching the Stanley Cup Finals on Television. The announcer's words filled her head.

"And Doug Paul sails the puck into the Devils zone. He skates to Center-WOW! He got hit hard by McDagger! Smacked down

_hard! Folks, he's not getting up. He's just lying there!_

Whoa, I hope he's okay! I don't think we will be seein' him

_for awhile! Here come the paramedics…"_

Ten minutes later, he had shakily gotten off the ice with a horrible grimace of pain. The paramedics had escorted him off the ice.

To everyone's amazement, Doug Paul returned to the ice and made a spectacular goal. It gave the fans extra hope.

_"Oh my gosh! Bob, are you seeing what I'm seeing? Doug Paul_

_is back out on the ice! Good grief! After a beating like that,_

_he's back! He is not gonna give up, is he?"_

"Courtney? Courtney! Get out there!" The coach was yelling. Portman was limping off the ice with the help of Fulton. The scoreboard was lit up.

Number: 21 Penalty: 5 minutes

Courtney did as she was told and skated onto the ice. _What a great way to start off the game_, she thought.

Within a minute, Iceland had scored. Goldberg pushed himself up and sighed angrily.

"Can't I get a little help here?" he yelled to the defense. They all looked away from him.

"This is going to be bad," Connie whispered. Courtney nodded sadly.

The Vikings were giving the USA no breaks. They rammed into people without a care. Fulton could hardly handle them all himself. He looked somewhat relieved and a bit nervous when he returned to the ice. Portman was at his side looking down at the ice with his helmet pushed over his face.

Connie and Courtney groaned as they skated back to their positions. The team seemed to be skating slower, or maybe Iceland was faster. Courtney couldn't decide which. Portman, however, appeared to be the only one who was playing up to expectations. He skated faster and thrashed into people harder. The buzzer sounded and the first period was over. The score was four to zero in favor of the Vikings.

Jo was furious when Dean was penalized; all he did was check an Iceland player. But the ref said it was "unprovoked". But she wasn't worrying about that now. Dean and Gunner had gotten into a fight and Fulton had to help Dean off the ice. Jo didn't know what was wrong but Dean was barely moving one of his legs. She figured Fulton was taking him back to the locker room or to the nurse. But since he wasn't moving his leg she figured the locker room was the best bet since it was closer.

Jo busted into the locker room not caring if anyone tried to stop her. She knew what to do if anyone tried to stop her; she would fight. She tried to stay out of fights now but she had her exceptions and this was one of them. At the far end of the locker room Jo caught sight of Dean and Fulton. "What happened out there?"

"Gunners skate cut my leg. Man when I get my hands on him he's gonna be crying for his mother," promised Dean. Jo looked into his eyes, he looked to be in a lot of pain. But of course he was hiding it in his facial expression. Jo figured he was not showing the pain in his expression because Fulton was here. He didn't like to show weakness to people he didn't know too well.

"Has the nurse looked at it?" Jo asked concerned looking down at the cut on Dean's leg. The cut looked nasty though that was a slight understatement. Fulton shook his head. "Okay let me clean that up. We don't have much time." Jo went to get the first aid kit. When she got back she started cleaning the cut despite the fact that Fulton was yelling at her.

"What are you talking about? Portman can't go out and play, not in his condition!" spat Fulton defensively; Jo was just starting to bandage the cut. "I don't want Portman to get hurt any more than he already is. Besides if he does all the Iceland players will be going at his leg with their sticks!"

"They won't be going for his leg, they will be going for _my_ leg," Jo said with a mischievous smile.

"What are you talking about?" asked Dean. He didn't like the mischievous glint in Jo's eyes.

"Just take off your jersey and gear," ordered Jo impatiently. Dean could tell Jo was getting a little frustrated with them so he did as he was told. He knew Jo well enough by now to know not to get on her bad side. As he was taking off his gear he noticed Fulton's mouth was gaping at him for following Jo's instructions. Once he got all of his gear off he handed it to Jo.

"So what's your big plan?" asked Fulton.

"I'm going to go out there and pose as Dean," stated Jo as if were an everyday thing.

"What? Please tell me I heard wrong? I thought you just said you were going to play hockey posing as me?" asked Dean. He made an effort to get up and stop Jo but the pain in his leg made him fall back into his chair.

"No you heard right. Fulton and I will go out to the rink, Fult will tell the coach that the nurse said you could play and boom the plans a success," Jo explained proudly.

"No that wont work because Portman will be here when we get back and the coach will figure out you're an imposter," protested Fulton.

"Yes it will work all I have to do is say my leg is starting to hurt and that the nurse said come to her if it hurt anymore. But naturally I don't go see the nurse, I come back here, I give Dean his clothes back, I leave and when the team comes in Dean will explain that the nurse said go strait to the locker room and don't go back to the game," explained Jo. Dean had to admit this was a good plan but there was a set back.

"We only have to worry about the coach noticing your face. I mean you don't exactly look a like," Fulton pointed out, voicing Dean's thoughts.

"That's why I don't look at him," answered Jo with a bit of sarcasm. "Besides he should have listened to me in the first place."

"What are you talking about?" asked Fulton.

"I over heard Gunner and Olaf talking. They said they were going to fake a trip on number twenty-one. Well that's just what I figured since most of what they were saying was in Icelandic. And twenty-one would be your number Dean," Jo explained.

"You're the crazed fan?" asked Fulton surprised. Dean sighed he didn't like the idea of Jo playing hockey against the Icelanders but they didn't have many options. Besides he was outnumbered anyway, Jo could easily go through with her plan peacefully or by force and with his injury there was no way he could stop her.

"Okay. Jo go out there and show 'em," Dean said enthusiastically.

"What! You can't be serious?" asked Fulton amazed that Portman would agree with Jo's plan.

"I've never been more serious. She's seen me play, she knows my moves well enough to full this off. She's taking my place in this game," Deans stated sternly. "Besides we don't have many options if you guys want a shot at winning."

Fulton sighed. "Alright I'll do my part. But I know I'm gonna regret this or I'm going to dislike this even more. If that's possible," stated Fulton. Jo nodded her head and went to go get changed. Lucky for her she was only a little shorter then her boyfriend. When she came back Fulton looked shocked.

"What?" Jo asked annoyed.

"Nothing it's just that you really could pass for Portman only he's a little taller and he's broader," confessed Fulton. "Okay lets go show off "Portman" to everybody." He and Jo went out of the locker room but not without Jo giving Dean a don't-worry- everything-will-be-okay look.

Portman skated up to Courtney as they returned to the bench. She smiled weakly without actually looking at him.

"Hey, Courtney," Jo greeted her.

"Oh, hey, Jo," Courtney replied unenthusiastically. "Jo?" She cried. She was staring into the eyes of Jo, not Portman. _What is she doing?_ Courtney thought.

"So, what do you think?" Jo asked calmly.

"What do you think you're doing?" Courtney yelled.

"Playing hockey, what are you doing?" Jo replied just as calmly as before.

"What if the coach sees you? He'll…he'll have a fit!" Courtney cried.

"Relax, your "coach" won't find out a thing. He hasn't yet, has he?"

"Well, no. Just, keep it low, okay?" Courtney pleaded.

"All right," Jo responded, "Just calm down."

Courtney skated away with a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach. If Jo was caught, that guaranteed the team another lecture. _But how would Coach Bombay deal with Jo?_ Courtney pondered, _How would he feel if he knew that we had been sneaking someone around behind his back? _ Courtney had to hand it to her, though. She was a great hockey player.

No one appeared to be performing up to standards. Charlie gave no signs of inspiring the team. Not even Jesse or Dwayne had anything to say. Averman sat down next to Luis on the bench. They both looked close to tears. Courtney guessed that Luis' ankle was testing him again because he was clutching it with his hands.

Luis and Courtney weren't the best of friends, but Courtney didn't like to see a teammate suffering. She figured that he would get mad if she told the coach, but she thought it was best for him.

"Coach?" she asked as she skated over to the bench.

"Huh?" he replied angrily.

"I think you should know…well, I mean Luis has been having problems with his ankle. It…I _think_ is hurting him now."

"If he was hurt, he would've told me."

"No, he wouldn't have. He thought it would make you upset…and lately we haven't been able to tell you anything," Courtney responded, more confident. The coach walked over to Luis, who quickly let go of his ankle.

"Luis, has your ankle been causing you trouble?" Luis took a deep breath of air.

"Well…yeah, coach. It has," he whispered.

"Is it now?" Luis nodded. "Great! One man down! Why didn't you tell me before?!" he cried out in anger.

"I-I thought it might get better over time. But, it hasn't gotten b-better," Luis stuttered.

"Just-just get down to the trainer!" the coach shouted.

"Coach!" Guy screamed, "He's hurt! He can't help it!"

"Yeah, coach! He told me he thought if he told you, you'd get upset. I told him, no, you'd be okay with it. But I guess I was wrong!" Russ exclaimed.

"You're _blowing_ this game and you wonder why I'm upset? Now we're a man down! Do you want to go home early? 'Cause if you _lose_ this game you're one loss away from elimination. Tell me one good reason why I shouldn't be upset right now?" Coach Bombay screamed at the team.

The team slowly made it's way to the locker room. Coach Bombay didn't follow. In fact, he turned his back to them.

In the locker room, there was nothing positive to say. Everyone took off their helmets. It was just as quiet as it had been before the game.

"What the-" Russ cried jumping backwards slightly. Heads turned in his direction. What they saw was a blond-haired girl at Portman's locker wearing his jersey. The team knew her as Jo, Portman's sister only because Ms. MacKay had introduced her.

"So that's why Portman was skating so well again…because it wasn't him!" Goldberg exclaimed.

"Jo, what are you doing here?" Adam asked, shaking his head.

"Coach is gonna flip when he finds out!" Russ shouted.

"He _won't_ find out!" Fulton threatened.

"Look, Dean's hurt and I wanted to help your team. If anyone's got a problem with that, just deal with it. You won't tell your coach anyway 'cause you know you need me," Jo explained.

"She's got a point," Averman agreed, "We do need her."

"Yeah," Ken nodded, "I guess it wouldn't hurt if she played with us for only one game."

"Guys! No, we'll get in so much trouble!" Connie pleaded. Dwayne nodded his head, agreeing with her.

"If she's found, then we'll all get into trouble because none of us stopped her! What if a referee sees that she's not Portman?" Dwayne voiced.

"It's just one game. At least until Portman is better and can play again. Breaking one rule isn't going to kill you," Jesse muttered

"Well, okay. I guess it's okay if it's only until Portman's okay," Connie mumbled,

It was settled, the team agreed: they needed her. They couldn't afford to lose any players. They were playing terrible and their spirits were down; they were desperate.

Quiet settled back over the room. Ken broke the silence as he took off his shoulder pads. "What's going _on_ with Coach Bombay?" He asked, throwing his pads down. Courtney couldn't believe that quiet, sweet, little Ken Wu had just done this. It wasn't like him to speak out like that.

"You know what? Why do we even bother?" Jesse exclaimed, standing up. "What kind of a coach has he become?"

"He _used_ to be-"

"Well, he _used_ to be, Courtney. When are you going to get it through your thick head? He's too involved in _business_ than to do anything with _us_. You ratted out Luis, which got him yelled at. Then, the coach turned on us. Just do us all a favor and keep your mouth shut!" Jesse yelled.

Connie's jaw dropped and Dwayne 's eyes became harsh. Guy clenched his fists and Courtney's face flushed. She looked down, hurt by his words.

"Hey! You're the one who started a fight with Dean!" Jo shouted at him.

"I was just trying t-to help h-him. H-he-" Courtney mumbled.

"Stop trying to help! Bombay's _not_ the guy to go to! I thought _you_ would be smart enough to know that, but I guess not. Why don't you just go home if you're gonna be like that!"

Adam jumped up. "Shut up! She was trying to help Luis! And she's _not_ stupid because if she were, she would've gone to Coach Bombay instead of Ms. MacKay about Jo and Portman-" Adam stopped as he saw Jo give him a shut-up-NOW look. "You don't know what you're talking about! If anyone has caused trouble around here it's been _you_!" Adam shouted.

For a moment, it looked as if Jesse might back off, but he leaped toward Adam. He threw a punch at him, but Charlie caught his fist in midair.

"Don't touch him!" he yelled menacingly.

"What are you gonna do 'bout it?" Jesse laughed.

"You're being crazy, Jesse," Goldberg whispered.

"Yeah, I've never seen you act like this to a teammate who you've always gotten along with," Russ added.

"We can't take our anger out on one another. We're a team. We have to work together," Charlie stated.

"Just calm down," Averman tried. Jesse took a few deep breaths.

"Okay, I'm sorry, Courtney. I didn't mean what I said. I'm just so frustrated!" He said sincerely.

Courtney wiped the tears from her face and hugged Jesse. "It's all right," She whispered in his ear.

"Okay, team! Let's go," Tibbles instructed, popping his head into the room.

"All right! Let's just go out there and try our best!" Charlie shouted. Courtney let everyone out of the room before her. She was trying to regroup herself.

"You okay?" Adam asked, concerned.

"I'm fine. Just a little shaken by what he said." Maybe Courtney _was_ all that Jesse had said. She tried to focus on the game, but it was no use. Her mind kept drifting off.

Once again, Team USA took their places on the ice. Dwayne got the puck and tried to go down the right side of the ice. He was rammed to the wall by two Iceland defenders.

Coach Bombay sent out Ken. Ken seemed confident as he intercepted the puck and sailed down the ice. He was up against the Iceland defense now. He had a grin on his face as he tried to duck between them. Courtney groaned as she saw Ken slammed onto the ice. He skated slowly back to the box and Adam was sent out. He looked nervously up at the scouts with their little black books.

_No Adam, don't pay attention to them!_ Courtney pleaded. She wanted him to impress them, but not be nervous because they were there.

However, Adam was tripped and Iceland got the puck. They passed it easily and were definitely enjoying themselves as Olaf took an easy wrap-around goal.

"Fulton, Portman, let me see some hitting!" Coach Bombay instructed. Jo and Fulton hopped off the bench. It was no use, though. Iceland was too big. "Fulton, blast one!" the coach demanded. Fulton sped down toward the Viking net. Dwayne passed the puck to him in a hurry. Fulton wound up and shot.

There was a loud _whack_! The Iceland goalie slowly let the puck slide out of his glove onto the ice. Fulton was stunned. He had just been stopped! There was a hushed silence in the stands. Team USA had just let out their secret weapon and it did no good.

"Remember when I told you he'd never been stopped?" Adam whispered, leaning toward Courtney.

"Yeah," she replied.

"So much for that."

Time was almost out. Team USA knew there was no chance for them. They had lost their inspiration. They were going to lose…big time.

"BANKS! Out there NOW!" The coach bellowed. Adam skated out, immediately got the puck and started on the attack. He whizzed past two defenders. The team cheered him on. He zoomed past each defender and took his shot. SCORE!

The crowd erupted. Cheers filled the arena. _Bet that will impress those scouts!_ Courtney thought proudly. She looked up into the stands and saw them scribbling madly. She turned her attention back to Adam.

He and Charlie joined their sticks on the Iceland goal in celebration and did a little dance. Olaf was gaining in on them. He brought his stick down on Adam's right wrist. Courtney jumped off the bench, outraged. Adam doubled over in pain as Courtney started punching Olaf. Charlie tried to pull her off, but he couldn't.

She didn't care where she punched him; she just wanted to hurt him. She felt her fists lock in on his jaw. She couldn't control what they did. The only signal she was getting from her brain was _hit him faster! Make him pay!_

Courtney realized that she wasn't the only one on the ice fighting. Gunnar Stahl had joined Olaf and Jo was had joined Courtney. She screamed at Gunnar and was punching him anywhere she could. Courtney figured Jo was thinking the same thing as her. Gunnar hurt Portman and Jo wasn't going to let him get away with it. Courtney wasn't going to let Olaf get away with hurting Adam.

Two of the referee's finally pulled Courtney and Jo off of the Iceland players. Olaf and Gunnar quickly skated away.

"Adam? Adam, are you okay?" Courtney asked, turning her attention towards him. He didn't answer. The buzzer sounded, ending the game. The final score was Iceland twelve, USA one.

Team USA trudged to the locker rooms once again. Courtney felt awful. She ached inside and out.

"What happened out there?" the coach yelled. The team continued to take off their gear. "That was embarrassing! You just embarrassed me on national television! How do you think that makes me look?"

"We were the ones out there! How do you think _we_ feel?" Jesse retorted.

The coach waved his question off. "Courtney, what were you _thinking_?! And _you_—who are _you_?" he spat at Jo.

"I'm Dean's sister, Jo," she replied calmly.

"You worked at the restaurant!"

"Um…yes, I did. I quit, though, 'cause it just wasn't for me," Jo lied.

"Why haven't I met you and why were you impersonating Portman?" Coach Bombay screamed at her.

"We didn't want you to have to worry about Portman's little sister," Courtney stepped in.

"You have no room to talk, Robertson! I asked _her_!" It was the first time she had been called by her last name by him. Courtney was taken aback. She sat down again.

"Our parents went to Australia and I was sent with Dean, last minute. I wanted to help your team tonight. That's why I went out there as Portman," Jo replied calmly.

"I should've been told!" Coach Bombay exclaimed.

"Gordon, you, me in the hallway, NOW!" Tibbles demanded. Coach Bombay stormed out of the room.

"Oh, and Courtney, you and "Portman" are suspended one game!" he added, sticking his head in.

"WHAT?" Courtney bellowed. Coach Bombay stared at her coldly and slammed the door.

"This is crap!" Jo yelled.

"Horse crap or Dog crap?" Averman asked.

"Averman-" Courtney started.

"Shut-up-Averman!" Jo yelled through clenched teeth. Averman backed up and gave her an apologetic smile.

"I can't believe this!" Courtney whined.

"Well, Courtney, what did you expect? 'Oh it's okay that you beat someone up on live television and made a total fool out of me. In fact, I think I should give you a million dollars'?" Russ asked.

"No, that's not what I expected," Courtney snapped.

"I guess pretending to be Portman didn't work so well, huh?" Fulton sighed. "It was going so well until this."

"How long are you going to help Jo with this charade, Courtney?" Adam protested.

"What? I'm not-what are you talking about? What charade?" She replied confused.

Adam walked away, trying desperately to ignore the stabbing pain in his wrist. Courtney knew what he meant by charade, so why was she being so ignorant?

Courtney changed out of her gear and got ready for dinner. She was tired and depressed. The game was a let down and she had been yelled at by four people. She hadn't spoken to Adam since the game and she was in no mood to.

Courtney jumped as her cell phone rang. Her home phone number was on the caller-ID.

"Hey, mom!" she greeted her.

"Courtney, I'm sorry about the game. Don't get too down about it. You've won all the other one's."

"Thanks. Our coach isn't taking it very well, though. How's dad?" Courtney asked.

"He's great. He's out right now. He told me to tell you that he's proud of you even though your team didn't do so well. Remember, honey, we're proud of you no matter what," Mrs. Robertson answered.

"Tell Dad I said I love him and to give me a call."

"Now, I know you were frustrated, but I don't want to see you getting in anymore fights, you understand?" she asked sternly.

"Oh, you saw?"

"That-oh what's his name-Olaf hitting Adam and then you and the other girl getting in a fight made the highlights."

"That was Jo. It really made the highlights?" Courtney asked excited.

"Yes, it did. Remember, you're representing your country, so do it well."

"Yes, ma'am," Courtney replied obediently.

"I've got to go. Love ya'."

"Love you, too. Bye." Courtney hung up the phone. She hadn't represented her country very well earlier.

When dinner was almost over, Coach Bombay barged through the doors. He looked at the team.

"Practice, after dinner." After saying that, he walked back out.

"GOSH! What is his problem?" Goldberg screamed frustrated.

The team marched into the dorms at eleven-thirty that night. Courtney fell asleep in her clothes along with her three roommates.

All too early, Coach Bombay awoke them with a whistle. They were dragged into the weight room without breakfast. All day they were either at the arena or the weight room.

Once again, it was a quiet night with everyone asleep the moment their heads touched the pillow. Everyone, but Courtney. She lay with her head on her arms, staring blankly at the wall. She couldn't make sense of anything. She had seen a side of herself the night of the Iceland game that she had never seen. Her brain seemed to be jumbled together. Why had things changed so abruptly? Things had been so great just a few sweet days ago. How had it all gone so wrong? Somewhere in all her thoughts, she faded to sleep.


	20. Chapter 20

Later that night, Jo was just playing solitaire while Dean was in the shower. At around eight thirty she heard a knock on the door. "It's open." Jo shouted. The person came into the room. "Oh hey Fulton."

"Hey Jo. Um…Jo could I talk to you about something?" asked Fulton closing the door.

"Sure. What is it?" asked Jo motioning for Fulton to sit next to her.

"When you have feelings for someone how do you know what their feelings for you are? There's someone that I care about but I don't know how they feel about me," stated Fulton taking a seat.

"I don't know how to answer that. My first boy friend, Evan, he thought he owned me and so when I dumped him and found another boyfriend he went to his house and started beating him up and he went to the hospital. I went back out with Evan so that no one would get hurt. And when I wasn't going out with someone he would hurt me or my friends. And I guess that is why I went out with him for so long."

"So you were sort of forced to stay with him?"

"Yeah. He thought he owned me. Fulton you can just go ahead and tell me how you feel about me."

"What? I never said it was _you_ I had feelings for?"

"Fulton, you know I'm right."

"Okay, your right. I really care about you. You give me a challenge when we play hockey and I'm not used to that, that's one thing that I admire in you."

"Fulton I don't know how to say this but here I goes, Dean is not my brother. It's just a cover up for me. Dean and I met on the plane and we had a week together. The truth is my life is really messed up and Dean is the best thing that's ever happened to me in a long time. And well he is my boyfriend. I'm sorry but I don't want you going and beating your self up because you like me. But as a really good friend will you do me this favor? Don't tell anyone about Dean being my boyfriend and not my brother. We don't want everybody knowing because they will probably be stocking us whenever they can. Again I'm sorry, but we can still be really good friends right?"

"Yeah okay I wont tell." Fulton stood up and made his way to the door completely crushed. But not before Jo gave him a quick kiss on the cheek to try and lighten his spirits.

"Good morning!" Ms. MacKay exclaimed as she walked into her classroom the next day. Her voice declined, as she saw none of her students awake. Half of them had their heads buried in their arms, while the others were asleep leaning on their arms. "Gordon," she murmured unhappily.

Courtney took the teams opportunity to have a day off to get some sleep. Ms. MacKay had told the team to get some rest because she had canceled practice. Jo had explained to her how "Captain Blood" had worked them so hard the past few days and that was why everyone was so tired.

Courtney was the only one in her room and she was glad to have some privacy. She had no clue where the others were but she didn't really care. After the weeks of being crowded in a dorm with everyone and virtually having no time to herself, she really wanted time to just be alone and reflect on things that had been happening. Before she knew it, she fell asleep listening to the air-conditioning in the background.

Courtney wasn't awoken until far into the afternoon by Charlie. The sun was slowly drifting behind the clouds and its rays were thrown across the floor. Charlie shook her until she reluctantly sat up.

"Stop!" she shouted, slapping him. She wasn't fully conscious yet, so she did whatever came natural to her. "Charlie! I'm tired leave me alone," she mumbled.

"No, get up. I need to talk to you," He replied urgently. Courtney continued slapping at him. "_Courtney_!" he pleaded.

"Fine!" she finally gave in. She tore off her covers and started to brush her hair.

"Courtney, I came to talk to you and you start _brushing your hair_?"

"Oh, sorry," Courtney mumbled, setting her brush back down.

"Okay, you know how Luis is hurt? Well…that means we're down a player," Charlie said quietly and slowly. He was facing the opposite direction so it was hard to hear him when he was talking so low.

"Yeah," Courtney replied, not understanding yet.

"Well, remember when we were playing against that street gang?" he questioned as if trying to give her a clue.

Courtney nodded, still confused. She sat back down on her bed, staring out the window at the trees wavering back and forth from the wind.

"And remember I had to go back inside because I had forgotten my water?" he asked again.

Courtney nodded once more. "Charlie, what's your point?" she asked angrily.

"My point is, when I went in I saw Jo skating."

"So," Courtney spat, "you saw Jo skating, big deal. And I saw the Russian players, let's call the tabloids!" Courtney shouted in fake excitement.

"Courtney! You're not understanding me! She was really good! You saw her too! At the Iceland game! _She can play in Luis' place!" _He screamed.

"You're right, Charlie," Courtney agreed. Charlie grinned enthusiastically. "But would she play? I mean, the only reason she played before was because Portman was hurt and our team was losing badly," Courtney said thoughtfully.

"Well…" Charlie trailed off. "I was thinking you could kind of…you know..."

"Oh, no, Charlie." Courtney yelled shaking her head. "No, Charlie. I am not going to talk her into playing for us. Uh-uh. I am not going to do that."

"Please, Courtney. We need someone in Luis' spot and she's good," he begged.

"No, Charlie," she stated.

"Courtney, do it for Adam."

"How would talking Jo into playing be doing anything for Adam?" Courtney asked quizzically.

"Because then we would do better during the games and you know how much winning means to Adam. Do it for the team, Courtney. Do it for me."

Courtney stood up and walked to the window. _Should I talk to her_, Courtney pondered. She sighed heavily and turned back to Charlie. "All right."

"Yes!" Charlie exclaimed, throwing his hands up.

Courtney hurriedly got dressed and ran down to Jo's room. She knocked quietly on the door and Portman opened it.

"I have to talk to Jo," Courtney whispered. Portman glanced back at Jo.

"Okay, so talk to her," Portman responded.

"_Privately_," Courtney stressed. Portman sighed and walked out of the room. Courtney walked into the room and shut the door behind her. "Uh…hey," Courtney said uncertainly.

"Hi," Jo replied nonchalantly.

"Look, I'm gonna cut right to the chase here. I want you…I mean, _we,_ the team, want you to play for us. Luis is hurt and we need someone to take his place and you're really good. So, what do you say?"

"Well...I...I'm not sure," Jo said, still writing on her paper.

"Does that mean yes or no?"

"There's a lot you don't know about me. Hockey is part of my past and not my future."

"But we need you to play!" Courtney pleaded. "You're really good! Please, we need you to play! Why isn't hockey a part of your future?"

"You wouldn't understand. It's too complicated," Jo responded.

"I can't walk out of this room letting my team down, though. They all want you to play! Do you really wanna let them all down?" Courtney cried frustrated.

Jo looked up at her for the first time. "Well I'm sorry, Courtney. I told you, hockey's a part of my past."

"Well why is it a part of your past? Why won't you play now?" Courtney demanded.

Jo glared at her, "I told you, you wouldn't understand."

"That doesn't tell me anything! Why won't you tell me?" Courtney shouted.

"Because…" Jo's voice trailed.

"Because why?!" Courtney screamed.

Jo looked back down at her papers. "Because my mom died trying to get to one of my games!" Jo finally shouted.

Courtney didn't know what to say next. "I'm really sorry Jo," Courtney mumbled.

"Are you happy now, Courtney?" Jo yelled.

"Um…not really," Courtney immediately resented saying that. "I mean, if you love hockey you shouldn't let something like that stop you. I'm sure your mother wouldn't have wanted you to stop playing," she said apologetically.

"Shut up, Courtney! It's not like you knew her!" Jo snapped.

"Yes, but every mother is the same! If their kid is doing something that they really love then they don't want to stop them."

"Well your mom didn't want you playing!" Jo pointed out.

"Yeah, but I'm here aren't I? So she obviously let me. She was just worried before."

"Well my mom's not like everyone else's."

"Wait, don't you and Portman have the same mom?" Courtney asked curiously.

Jo was quiet for a moment. "I'm adopted, Courtney!" Jo shouted. "Didn't you realize that? My mom died and my dad couldn't keep me for financial reasons."

"Oh," Courtney murmured, blushing. "But still, don't you think your mom would've wanted you to keep playing if you were happy doing that?"

"What part of this don't you get?! It was hard enough playing in the Iceland game. None of you understand how hard that was on me," Jo shouted standing up. "As an answer to your question my mom died when I was really young so I don't know if she would want me to continue or not . One of main reasons I even played hockey in the first place was because it kept me out of the house."

"Well how was I supposed to know that?"

"That's the thing; you weren't supposed to know. I keep to myself because it's the best thing for myself and others!" Jo raged.

"Well maybe you shouldn't keep to yourself so much and people wouldn't treat you the way they do," Courtney stated.

"Maybe I don't want everyone to know all about my life. It's none of their business anyway!"

Courtney couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had come into this room to talk to Jo about playing hockey for their team and somehow they had gotten onto the subject of her life.

"We've gotten so off topic here! I didn't come to your room to argue over your childhood and I don't plan on continuing to! Are you playing with us or not!?" Courtney hollered, losing her temper.

"Well let's think…What have I been telling you through this whole argument?" Jo yelled sarcastically.

"Honestly, I have no idea! Because it hasn't answered my question one bit!" Courtney responded.

"Here's your answer flat out, NO!"

"Fine, you wanna let Dean, ya know your _boyfriend_, down? You wanna let the whole team down? If you want to let go of everything you could be in the sport of hockey that's your choice!" Courtney screamed as she turned around and headed to the door.

Courtney was billowing over with anger. She didn't want to spend any more time in that room. All she wanted to do was get away. She didn't care where to or how she got there she just wanted to leave.

"How'd you find out?" Jo menacingly hissed.

"Find out what?"

"About me and Dean, stupid! What do you think I'm talking about?!" Jo exploded.

"Well I don't want to tell you because 'I keep to myself because it's the best thing for myself and others'," Courtney mocked.

"Why you little-" Jo charged towards Courtney. Courtney had no defense and was checked into the door.

"Ahh!" They heard Goldberg cry. Jo slammed her fist against the door and heard him yelp again.

Courtney was crouched down in the corner of the room with no protection whatsoever. She saw Jo dash towards her again. She squinted her eyes worrying about how much pain she was about to feel. She regretted ever going to Jo's room and she didn't plan on every coming again. _Oh where is Portman when you need him_, Courtney pleaded to herself, _Come on Portman, come into the room. If there was ever a time it's now! _

Jo was still advancing on her and she had her fist positioned. She seemed to be moving in slow motion. Her fist swung backwards and started to sway forward. All hope seemed gone. Courtney wondered what Coach Bombay would say when he found out they were another player down. Adam flashed back into her mind as well.

"Oh crap!" Courtney suddenly yelled. Jo froze for a split second.

"What?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking about Adam's face when he hears what happened."

"Oh, whatever. Well if that's all-," Jo responded and threw her fist back again.

Unexpectedly, Portman broke down the door and darted into the room, closely followed by Adam and Fulton.

"What's goin' on here?" Adam shouted, "What the heck is your girlfriend doing to my girlfriend?"

"_Girlfriend_?!" Goldberg echoed. "She's your _girlfriend_?" The whole team was inside the room now, watching the dramatic scene.

"No, s-she's my sister," Portman stammered, "I don't know how this whole girlfriend thing came up."

"Face it Portman. You can't hide it anymore! We know Jo's your girlfriend," Charlie stepped forward, "You don't kiss your sister like you did!"

Courtney was grateful that the boys had come into the room when they did. For once, she didn't entirely hate Portman. She was actually happy that he was there. Adam rushed over to her and helped her up. Quickly, he pulled her over to the doorway with the team.

"What happened?" Fulton blasted.

"Anyone of you who may be offended by my language better leave now. 'Cause it is not gonna be pretty. Goldberg, you get your fat-"

"Uh Jo, let's just…sit down. Calm ourselves and um…keep the profanity to a minimum," Fulton said soothingly.

"Fine, I'll leave. We're goin over to see Luis at the trainer's office. That's why we came up here in the first place. We didn't know if you wanted to come or not," Goldberg muttered.

"Fulton, you better get your hands off me before I stick my foot up your ass," Jo remarked, "Are you happy? I kept the "profanity" down."

"This is gonna be harder than I thought," Fulton mumbled.

"It's gonna be a _long_ night," Charlie added. "I'd hate to be whoever sleeps down here."

"Guys, listen. Adam, Courtney, Charlie-that side of the room NOW! Portman, Jo-over there! Team, get out with the exception of Guy, Dwayne, and Connie. You seemed to be just fine listening in the hallway, at least until you got thrown backwards," Fulton instructed. Jo smiled triumphantly.

Courtney traveled to the left side of the room. Charlie followed Dwayne and the others. Jo didn't move from her spot on the bed. Portman was sitting beside her and whispering something.

"Now I'm gonna ask this once and only once. What the heck happened?" Fulton wore no expression of amusement.

Jo and Courtney both started blurting out words at once. Fulton grabbed his head.

"SHUT UP!" He bellowed. "You two do this again and I'm bringing my hockey stick and a puck in here and I guarantee whoever gets it in there head will not be able to talk anymore!" Both girls looked down at the floor. "One at a time-Jo, what happened?"

"Courtney brought up a topic that I didn't want to talk about and kept pressing on that subject," Jo argued.

"Only because I was trying to get her to play for the team because Luis is hurt! I was only thinking of the team, and she was giving me bull crap answers!" Courtney shot back.

"Wait a minute, this whole thing is over some stupid argument about playing for the team? Courtney, where did you even get the idea that Jo could play hockey?" Fulton asked.

"She didn't! Charlie told her I could play and he probably made her come down here and ask me because he didn't have enough guts to do it himself!"

"Hey!" Charlie jumped in defense.

"Well, it's true. But that's not the point-Charlie was only thinking of the team! He knows how much this means to Bombay," Courtney alleged

"Bombay? Don't you mean "Captain Blood"?" Jo spat.

"Okay, that's enough! Bombay's a great guy, he's just let everything get to his head! I didn't know the point of this was to bash on the coach," Charlie shot back.

"Well, some coach's shouldn't be hanging out with Iceland chicks!" Portman shouted.

"Wait-what?" Adam questioned.

"Yeah, we saw him with this Iceland chick the other night getting ice cream and talking about Iceland!" Jo cut in.

"I don't care what the coach does! It's not my business what he does with his personal life. What is this, a mutiny?!" Charlie shrieked.

"Can we get back on the subject please?" Fulton requested. "Courtney, please reenact what happened, but without the one: profanity, two: fighting, and three: yelling."

Courtney got up from the bed irritated Jo did the same. Courtney tried to think about what happened first. "I asked Portman to leave, Jo was writing. I asked her to join the team, she got an attitude, told me 'bout some stuff, we got into an argument about her past and she tried to attack me," Courtney explained.

"Well, yeah I would attack someone who seriously pisses me off," Jo shouted. Courtney glared at her.

"Anger management," Charlie coughed.

"You got something to say to me, midget?" Jo spat.

"Jo, you sit down. I am not in the mood for this!" Portman glowered.

"Whatever," Jo plopped down onto the bed.

"So what's the deal with this whole thing?" Guy asked. He had been silent along with Connie and Dwayne the whole time. Courtney hardly knew they were even in the room.

Fulton sighed heavily, "They just explained it, Guy. Were you not listening? The real question it, what are we going to do about it?"

"I vote we just forget about it," Connie added.

"Connie, why do you always try the stupid, never works, way out? You know I'm never gonna forget about this," Jo replied.

"Well, you said and I quote, 'I keep to myself' so how do we know if you'll forget about it?" Courtney said sarcastically.

"I'm guessing mocking is why this whole thing started? Right?" Dwayne asked excitedly.

"Way to go cowboy, you _do_ have a brain!" Jo shouted sarcastically. That was it, Courtney wasn't going to take anymore of Jo's smart mouth. These were her friends that Jo was making fun of. Everyone but Portman and Fulton lunged at her at the same time. Jo darted out of the way at the perfect time, leaving them on a heap in the floor.

"Ow," Dwayne mumbled, "She doesn't have to be so darn mean. None of the girls where I come from are like that!"

"Smart move Cowboy," Jo stated in a Texas accent. She hurriedly left the room. "Guess we'll have to do this later guys. It's been fun…not."

Courtney spun around to face Fulton. "Great plan, what are we gonna do now smart one?"

"I wasn't expecting her to leave!" he alleged.

"I just hope she doesn't do anything stupid that she'll regret," Portman mumbled.

"Why on earth would she do something like that?" Courtney asked sarcastically.

"Real funny. You guys don't know her like I do. She's had it rough, okay? Go easy on her," Portman said defensively.

"Why should we? She's made our lives very difficult."

"Well would you be happy if your mom died when you were almost eight? I don't think you'd react too well, either."

"I don't even wanna talk about this anymore. I'm going to sleep and no one is going to bother me, you here?! No one! Just leave me alone!" Courtney shouted.

Courtney didn't ever want to hear the name 'Jo' again. She wanted to go home; get away from everything that had happened. She thought being in California was going to be so much different. She never expected any of the obstacles that she had encountered. For the first time, she was sincerely thinking about calling her mom and leaving, but then what would the team think of her? She didn't want to give them the impression that she couldn't hack it. She covered her head with her pillow and tried to fall asleep. She heard Adam come into the room, but didn't attempt to make a conversation with him. She felt him sit down on the end of her bed.

"Are you all right?" he asked smoothly.

"Just leave me alone. I don't want to talk about anything," Courtney whispered crankily.

"If you talk about it, then it might make you feel better. You can tell me anything," Adam replied, "You know that."

"Well, I don't' know what to say about it all. It doesn't make any sense. Why won't Jo play with the team?"

"Look, we lost 'cause Iceland was just too good. We can go on without her. I told you that you shouldn't have helped her pretend to be Portman's sister. Why do you want her to be on the team so bad?" Adam asked, grabbing Courtney's hand. His hands were warm in contrast to hers.

"Well, Charlie told me he'd seen her play and she was good. I didn't want to ask her to join the team, but Charlie said that I should for you."

"What do you mean he told you to do it for me?" he asked, moving her hair off of her face. He smiled soothingly at her. Courtney was starting to feel better now that she knew Adam was on her side.

"Winning this tournament means so much to you. I just thought that if Jo was on the team and we won, you'd be happy," Courtney sighed.

"We both need to get some sleep. Why don't you get some hot chocolate and then try to fall asleep. It might calm you down a little" Courtney nodded and watched as Adam made some hot chocolate. He handed her a mug with a Santa Clause printed on the side. She smiled gratefully. He waited for her to finish and took the mug. He gently kissed her on the forehead and climbed into his bunk.

Somewhere in the middle of the night, she heard their door creak open. She uncovered her face. There was just enough moonlight shining in the room for her to see Portman peaking through their door.

"Adam," he whispered, "Adam!" he said a little louder. _Oh, shut up_! Courtney thought.

"What?" he called back aggravated.

"Have you seen Jo?"

"No, go away," Adam muttered.

"He's kind of cranky if he gets woken up like that," Courtney answered. "Oh, and _never_ come to this room again speaking of _anyone_ with the name 'Jo', or anything resembling that. What makes you think _we_ know where she is anyway?"

"Jeez, I was just asking. Get over yourself. You need more sleep than you think." He stormed back out of the room and slammed the door, making the entire room shake. Courtney threw her pillow at him, but the door was already shut.

"Jerk," she mumbled. She had trouble sleeping that night. She kept thinking about how insensitive Portman and Jo were. No wonder they were a couple, they had so much in common.

The next morning, Adam was shaking Courtney awake. "If you didn't want to be shaken awake last night, what makes you think I want to be shaken awake now?" she muttered.

"Somebody woke me up last night?" he asked, seriously.

"Yes, Adam! Number twenty-one woke you up!" Courtney shouted in disbelief.

"Really? Anyway, there are policemen outside! Come on!" Adam was wearing a boyish grin on his face.

"What?!" Courtney shot up. "Why? Did someone get hurt? Was it Portman or Jo?"

"I don't think so. Somebody got drunk or something like that. Apparently, someone on the team."

"I knew my luck wasn't that good. How much you bet it was Jo who got drunk?"

"Yeah, it probably was. Now, get dressed so we can go down there," Adam rushed her. Courtney wasn't aware that she was still in her Pajamas. She was wearing a tank top with shorts. She quickly covered herself up with the covers.

"Adam, why are you still looking at me? I'm in my pajamas. Let me get changed, okay?" He nodded. Courtney waited for him to leave, but he just stood there. She cleared her throat. He looked around the room. "Adam!"

"Oh, what?" He asked.

"Either you need to leave the room or go into the bathroom."

"Why?" He questioned.

"Because I have to change!" Courtney shouted in hesitation.

"Oh," he blushed.

"Are you sure _you're_ not the one who got drunk?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm not drunk. Then again, that drink that Goldberg gave me this morning, tasted pretty good. Boy, you're sarcastic today." Adam walked out of the room and left Courtney to herself. She changed as quickly as she could and ran down the stairs. Police cars were surrounding the building. Lights flashed everywhere. The team was all out talking to the policemen. Connie, in particular, was talking and giggling with one of the younger boys. Courtney dragged her away from him.

"Guy," she muttered, "Remember, he's your boyfriend."

The coach was interrogating one of the policemen on what was going on. He wasn't having much luck. The only thing the policemen would say was that they were not at liberty to discuss what had happened, only that they were looking for a member of his hockey team. Courtney could tell the coach was angry. His face was bright red and his eyes were narrowed.

"Just tell me who you're looking for and I will be able to find them for you," he demanded.

"I'm sorry sir, I can't do that," the policemen responded.

"I suggest you tell him because he's been in a really bad mood for the past few days. He gets pretty mad, too," Averman cut in. Bombay gave him a menacing glare.

"I'll deal with you later. Get over there with the team. "He turned back to the policemen. "Who are you looking for?"

"All I can tell you is that we think she's hiding out in this building."

"She, huh? Well, I only know of three girls and two of them are out here, so I think I know who it is. Is her name Jo?"


	21. Chapter 21

Bombay stormed up the dorm stairs angrily. "I can't believe this. A member of my team, or anyone associated with someone on my team, does not get drunk!" Guy had informed him where her room was. The door was locked when he reached it. He banged on the door. No one answered the door. "Open up this door right now! I know you're in there. If you don't open the door, I'll break it down!" Still, no one opened it. Bombay slowly made his way back down the stairs. He told the police the problem and they sent the fireman to knock the door down.

Three firemen with axes in their hand were making their way up the stairs as Portman was emerging from the shower. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Just get out of the way son," one of the firemen answered. Portman followed them down the hallway. They were heading down towards his room.

"Is there a fire or something?" They didn't answer him. The fireman stopped at his door. "Hey, what're you-" They began to chop the door. "What do you think you're doing!? That's my room!"

"This is your room?" The fireman immediately stopped.

"Duh, I just said it didn't I?"

"Just listen, son. We need to take you down to the police."

"What for?" One of the men had his arm around Portman now. "Get off me. Don't you touch me!"

"Is your name Jo?"

"No way. I'm Dean. Dean Portman. What do you want with someone named Jo, anyway?" he asked innocently.

"Jo got drunk last night, vandalized some private property. This Jo, is in a lot of trouble," one man explained.

"Really?" Portman asked, faking interest, "Wish I could help. There's no Jo here," he reacted. The fireman examined him for a moment. He rolled his eyes and walked off. Portman waited until the men were gone and unlocked the door. Jo was lying on the bed with her earphones on.

"I'm sorry sir, but there was no one named Jo up there," the head fireman told the coach.

"She's got to be up there! Who told you she wasn't up there?" he demanded.

"A young man with dark hair. He had just gotten out of the shower. It was his room that you were trying to get into."

"Portman. When I get my hands on him, he is going to regret every being born. Guys, follow me. She's up there I know it. He's probably trying to help her escape as we speak."As they traveled up the stairs, the building was empty. The door was wide open to Portman's room and no one was in it. Coach Bombay grunted.

They heard screams from outside and rushed to the window. Portman and Jo had tried to escape through the window, but were now apprehended by police. Jo was placed in handcuffs and put into the back of the police car. The car soon drove off with his light still flashing.

"Wow, this is so exciting," Averman whispered.

"Grow up, Averman," Courtney snapped. The lights were slowly fading away as the cars left one by one. No one was ready to go back inside. They kept waiting for the cars to come back because Jo had tried some method of escaping.

"I'm going down to the police station. None of you leave this facility, you understand?" Coach Bombay commanded.

"I'm going with you," Portman said.

"No, you aren't. You are to stay here with the rest of your teammates. I'm sure Ms. MacKay will be here soon."

"I'm not leaving my sister at the police station like that. What kind of a person do you take me for?"

The team snickered. Portman turned around and glowered at them. They stopped at once. Bombay gave the team a funny look and shook it off.

"Then let's go. I can't waste any time arguing with you. "They climbed into the car and sped off.

"I wonder what Jo did?" Courtney asked, curiously.

"Who cares? Last night you said you never wanted to hear the name Jo again," Adam stated.

"Wait-you said you didn't remember anyone waking you up last night, that must mean you didn't hear anything I said," Courtney declared.

"You asked me if someone woke me up last night? But I haven't talked to you all day, though," he said confused.

"Adam, don't drink anything Goldberg gives you ever again."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, Adam. You're cute when you're confused. Just trust me, don't drink anything from Goldberg."

Jo exited the police car and took in her surroundings and any available resources. As far as resources went there were little and of no usefulness. She looked up at the two-story building in front of her. It had a large set of steps going up to the row of doors.

The two policeman shoved Jo in the shoulder causing her to stumble forward a bit. They made sure to stay close to her side to make sure she didn't try anything.

They led her into the station where they showed her to a desk. One of the police officers took a seat and the other stood behind Jo.

"Alright. You know why you're here. Correct?" the officer asked.

"Yep. I got mad, went to a bar, got a little drunk and trashed the place. That good enough for ya'?" Jo asked.

"Yes. Now we will give you one phone call. So give me the persons number," the officer commanded.

"My cousin Kris. Her number I would like to dial Mr.…" Jo paused and looked at the man's nametag and read it. "Smith."

"Alright. You dial," Smith sighed handing Jo the phone. Jo dialed the number and Kris picked up after the second ring.

"Hi Kris. Listen you don't mind bringing a few hundred dollars over to a station do you?" Jo asked casually.

"Jo what did you do?" Kris asked accusingly.

"This girl got me pissed and I kinda went to a bar and drank too much," Jo replied.

"All right I'll be there soon just be good and don't beat the heck out of the boys in blue," Kris pleaded.

"Don't worry I'll be good. A perfect little angel," Jo said humorously. Kris hung up the phone and Jo did the same.

"So how much is my bail anyway?" Jo asked putting her feet up on Smiths desk.

"I may not give you a bail," Smith said pushing her feet of his desk. "I'm not required to do that."

"But I can pay it," Jo assured. "My cousin has connections in high places."

"We'll see. How's that?" Smith asked. Jo nodded. "Good."

The doors banged open and Bombay and Dean came through them. Bombay looked as if he was just bitten by a dog with rabies. Dean even looked scared of him.

"John will you go and see what they want?" Smith requested to his partner.

"Good luck," Jo said. John looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "You're gonna need it."

John walked up to Bombay and asked him what he needed. Bombay already in a bad mood yelled his answer back. He was in no mood to be questioned now. On they way there Dean had started praying that he would survive the trip to the police station let alone the ride back. Bombay walked quickly over to Smiths desk. Dean and John followed slowly keeping their distance from him.

"What can I do for you Mr. Bombay?" Smith asked casually.

"You can let this girl go with out any charges. I'm in no mood to take no for an answer," Bombay raised his voice.

"Well from what I understand Jo here has enough money to make bail so when she turns it over to us we will let her go," Smith said.

"I never said I have it. I said my cousin is coming with it," Jo clarified. As if on cue Kris came in. "And here she comes now."

Kris came up to the desk and punched Jo in shoulder.

"That's for makin' me come down here to save your sorry butt! Trent and Bill are gonna have a fit! Mr. What's-his-face is furious with you!" Kris said.

"Sorry Kris. But did you really have to punch me that hard?" Jo asked as she rubbed her shoulder. Kris turned her attention to Smith.

"How much is her bail?" Kris asked.

"$350," Smith replied.

"Here you go," Kris said giving him some money. Smith took it and put it in an envelope.

"You may go now. Jo stay out of trouble," Smith advised.

"Um…Yeah. Can I get these cuffs off now?" Jo asked with a hint of sarcasm. Smith took out the key and unlocked the handcuffs.

Once the cuffs were off Jo started rubbing her wrists. She had never gotten used to the feeling of having cuffs on. Jo turned around and walked out of the building while putting her sleeveless trench coat on.

"You mean I came all the way out here and you already had bail," Bombay raged once they were all outside.

"Kind of. I called Kris before you and Dean came. But trust me I swear I didn't know you were coming," Jo assured.

"Just get in the car," Bombay ordered as he made his way toward his car.

"Hey Kris. Thanks," Jo gratified. Kris nodded and went over to her car and drove away.

Jo walked over to Bombay's car and hopped into the back seat. Dean and Bombay were already in.

"I'd buckle up," Dean advised. Jo did as Bombay drove them to the dorms.

Jo lunged out of the car when it finally came to a stop in front of the dorms. She had been to amusement parks and ridden on tons of roller coasters but nothing could have prepared her for Bombay's driving when he was furious. She ran over to the bushes and vomited. Dean came over to her to see if she was all right. Bombay just drove away the second Dean closed the car door.

"Are you okay?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. Just remind me to never let the deranged lunatic drive me any where?" Jo asked just before she vomited yet again.


	22. Chapter 22

Seeing as how the coach was at the Police station, the team wasn't entirely sure whether or not they were going to continue with practice. But they headed down to the local arena anyway. Ms. MacKay showed up and directed the practice with instructions that Coach Bombay had said over the phone. Courtney had a feeling that their workout wasn't as hard as it was supposed to be. She didn't really care, though. Things were going better. She didn't have to deal with Jo that day and their coach wasn't around to yell at them.

Everyone had returned to the dorm room's later night, with the exception of Luis and Adam. Courtney fell asleep without being able to say good night to him. She figured she would see him in the morning; it was no big deal. But when she woke up in the morning, he still wasn't back. His bed was still made just as it had been the day before.

She got dressed and ate her breakfast. Courtney was planning on seeing if Charlie knew where Adam might be, but ran into Jo instead. _Great, the last person I want to see at this time is the first person I see_, Courtney thought angrily.

"How'd you get out of jail?" Courtney asked smugly. She didn't really want to know, but she figured it would maybe make connections a little easier between them.

"Some friends helped me. They're in high places, ya know?" Jo answered quietly.

"What do you mean by 'high'? Drunk, social, or both?"

"Oh, it's both," Jo said sarcastically, "It's socially you moron!"

"Do you know any other words besides 'idiot', 'moron', and 'stupid'?"

"I know 'talent' and 'rich' too."

"Well you obviously don't have any of either, now do you?" Courtney smirked.

"Didn't you learn anything from yesterday? Does it just go in one ear and out the other?" Jo shot back.

"Well it must for you because you don't have a brain. Tell me, do you feel light headed all the time, because there's nothing in there?"

"Hmm…I just have one question. What do you want me to wear to your funeral?"

"I like purple," Courtney laughed.

"No, I was thinking a darker color. What about black?"

"Nah, too depressing! It should be light. Oh, and if you could, I like Roses, you can get those, can't you, or are they too expensive?" Courtney asked sarcastically.

"Hey girls what's going on?" Coach Bombay asked, walking down the hall with a clipboard.

"Nothing," they answered in unison.

"Doesn't look like "nothing". Courtney, I need you to come with me to the trainers. Jo, stay outta trouble 'cause if you get put in jail again, I'm not bailing you out."

"Why are we going to the trainers? I'm fine. Did I really play that bad to make you think I'm hurt?" Courtney cried, embarrassed as she followed him outside and into his new car. It still smelled like plastic and the seats in the back were still covered in plastic wrap. "Nice car," she remarked.

"I have the keys, remember that," he warned her. "I know you aren't hurt. Someone else is," Coach Bombay replied quietly.

"But, who is?"

Bombay stared out the window and sighed. Courtney waited patiently. "You'll see."

"Wait-why am I the only one..." her voice trailed off. She knew who was hurt. "That's why he wasn't in the room last night," she said to herself. Courtney gazed out the window too. She couldn't recall if he had gotten hurt recently. Why hadn't he tried to get in touch with her? He knew her cell phone number. _Mom'll be happy now. An injury has taken place,_ Courtney thought bitterly.

"Do you mind telling me what happened?"

"I don't actually know," the coach responded. He turned off the engine as they pulled into the driveway. Courtney sprinted into the building expecting the worst. Luis greeted her at the door with a smile. She returned the smile weakly. Reading her thoughts, Luis commented, "He's asleep in the bedroom on the left side. The door's unlocked, you can go in."

"Thanks!" Courtney exclaimed, rushing off. Quietly, she turned the knob and pushed the door open. Adam looked peaceful. His head was rested sideways on the pillow. Courtney gingerly rubbed the white bandage around his head. "What's happened to you, Adam?" She whispered. Her fingers swept down to his wrist. It was also bandaged with a white cloth. "Oh, look at your beautiful blue eyes covered with a bruise," she sobbed. Softly, Courtney smoothed her hands over his face. Courtney wiped the tears from her face as Coach Bombay joined her in the room.

"You going to be all right?" He asked soothingly. He gave her a concerned smile.

"I'm not sure," she shrugged. Was he not looking at the same thing she was? Did he not see Adam lying there unconscious? Did he really have to ask? He's just trying to be helpful, Courtney thought, Give him a break.

"Anything you want me to do or get for you?" Coach Bombay commented.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I just want to know what happened?"

"I'll get the trainer, how's that?" The coach offered. Courtney nodded. She sat down in one of the chairs positioned in the room beside Adam's bed. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed silently. It was silent in the room, with the exception of Adam's breathing. It wasn't a good silence. Courtney felt trapped in the room. It was a deadly, terrifying silence. The walls were plain white, matching the bed sheets.

"Hi," the trainer said. He was a boy her age with dark hair and green eyes.

"Hi," Courtney replied as calmly as she could.

"So, you want to know what happened?"

"Yes," Courtney nodded.

"Wish I could tell ya," the boy said scratching his head.

"What?! That's not good enough!" Courtney snapped. "Shouldn't you know? If you didn't know, you couldn't treat him!"

"I'm Bryan, you are?"

"This is not a time to introduce yourself. What happened to that boy lying in the bed right there? That's what this is about: my boyfriend and why he's laying there!"

"I was introducing myself because I know you'll have a lot to ask about what I'm about to explain."

Courtney inhaled sharply, "My name is Courtney and I'd love to hear what you have to say."

Outside in the kitchen, Coach Bombay was interrogating Luis. He paced back and forth in front of him.

"So, you don't know how this happened?"

"No. I don't think Bryan even knows. Adam just kind of showed up here. That's all I know."

"Someone doesn't just show up like that. What do you know about last night?" The coach asked.

"I was just sitting with Luis and talking when I heard a knock on the door. Naturally, I got up and answered it. At first, I didn't see anyone. It was a little creepy. But then, I saw Adam just sitting on the steps, his back leaning on the wall," Bryan explained.

"You didn't see anyone else?" Courtney cried, horrified. Bryan shook his head. "Was he awake? I mean, you could have asked him what happened."

"Someone had to have brought him here, he was a little cleaned up, but I didn't see anyone. He wasn't awake. The only time I've seen him awake was when he asked for something to eat last night. I brought him some soup, then your coach called. When I got back to the room, he was asleep. The one thing I heard him say was to call you, but I didn't know you."

Courtney felt a bit of relief. At least Adam remembered her. And he had thought about her. "You could've told Luis that Adam said that. He knows my number. He could've called me."

"I didn't think of that. Maybe you could've gotten him to talk. You're welcome to stay here until he wakes."

"Yeah, I think I will," Courtney said quietly. She waited for Bryan to leave and sat down on the edge of the Adam's bed. "I hope you're okay," she stuttered. "That's all I want. Just be all right." She didn't know what happened or where, but she was grateful to whoever had brought him here. She looked at Adam's face pale in the dull light shining through the blinds. Courtney was startled by the sound of leaves rustling. A window to the right of Adam's bed caught her attention. She looked out, but all she saw was the swish of someone shirt going around the corner. She shrugged and slammed the window shut. Courtney slumped down onto his bed once more. It was a double size. She lay down beside him and pulled the covers up and over here listening to Adam's breathing, and she quickly fell asleep.

"Courtney," Coach Bombay whispered, shaking her slightly. "Courtney, we've got to get back."

"Can I just stay here?" She asked sincerely. "I'd really rather stay here than face everyone. It would just be easier."

"Courtney, come on. It'll be easier later on if you face them now," the coach persuaded her. Courtney swiftly kissed Adam's cold cheeks and got out from under the warm sheets. The ride back to the dorms was short as well as quiet. Dwayne, Charlie, and Connie were waiting for her when she hopped out of Bombay's car. She wouldn't look any of them in the eye.

"Guys, I need to talk to all of you upstairs," Coach Bombay instructed. The four of them followed him up the stairs. When everyone was centered around the coach, he cleared his throat. "As most of you know, Luis is hurt right now and is unable to play. Well, I just want to say that all of you will have to give more than one hundred percent at games and practices because Adam is also unable to play at the moment." There were a few confused glances and remarks made but no one spoke to the coach. "Subsequently, each player will need to perform up the standards which are given to them," Coach Bombay said sternly, giving Averman a side-glance, "We can't afford to lose anymore players. If anyone has anything additional to say, I'll be in my office at the rink." The players sluggishly returned to what they were doing before.

"I'm sorry," Connie apologized. "What happened to him?" Courtney shook her head and shrugged.

"No one knows. I wish I did. At least then I wouldn't have to worry. I mean, was this just a one time beat up or someone who's after Adam and could possible attack him again?" She questioned.

Dwayne shrugged too. "I think he'll be okay. He can take care of himself. He's a tough guy. You don't need to worry 'bout him." Charlie nodded. Courtney exchanged glances with each of them and then turned towards her door. "We're here if you need us," Dwayne offered.

"Thanks," Courtney responded, barely audible.

"Really, Courtney. If you need to talk or just need company, we're here," Charlie said, stepping towards her. She smiled, and continued on to her room. She needed the complete opposite of company. She needed time to be alone, to think about what had happened. She wanted the silence of Adam's room back. She wanted the warmth of his body against hers back. She wanted to hear the soothing beat of his heart again. She threw herself onto Adam's bed and breathed in the smell of his pillow. It was his shampoo that she smelled. His sheets still smelled of his cologne. She stared at the homely brown wall for over an hour. She couldn't fall asleep, but she didn't have enough energy for anything else. She kept expecting Adam to walk into the room any minute and make everything better, but he never did. She eventually let go of the fantasy and walked around campus.


	23. Chapter 23

Jo sighed and sipped her drink. She didn't mind restaurants with bars but clubs and plain bars were more fun because of the people and the fights. She placed her drink back onto the table and looked around. The dining section looked clean enough and could have been lit a little more. The bar could have used a lot of cleaning and it was dim and smoky. She noticed a man was coming toward her.

"What bring you here sweetie?" the man asked clearly feeling the affects of his drink.

"Bored," Jo replied simply. She didn't make eye contact with the stranger.

"How 'bout I buy you a drink?" the man offered.

"How 'bout you look over there," Jo said pointing with her thumb to another man who was on the floor unconscious. The strangers' eye widened. "That can be you if you want."

The man backed away from her and left her to her drink.

She was half way through her drink when she heard glass shattering behind her. She turned around and saw a bunch of Iceland hockey players beating up on someone.

"Finally! I thought I was gonna have to start a fight myself!" Jo exclaimed taking a gulp of her drink, wiped her mouth with her sleeve and jumped into the fray.

Usually she didn't care whom she was beating the heck out of but this time she made sure not to hurt the one person she was defending. For one simple reason it was… Adam! She didn't know how he got in the fight. He was usually smarter then that. In no time at all the entire bar was in a ruckus.

Jo wasn't sure how but she had got in between Adam and the Iceland players. She couldn't have picked a worse position to be in if she could… she was backed into a corner with the entire Iceland team in front of her and Adam behind.

Jo got ready to defend herself and an unconscious Adam behind her. Iceland lunged at her. Jo quickly picked Adam up off the floor and moved out of the way while Iceland charged. They fell in a heap on the floor. Pushing people out of her way Jo ran out of the bar as quickly as she could. Lucky for her Adam wasn't all that heavy and she was very strong. She dumped him in an alley by a drug store and went in and bought some rubbing alcohol and a few bandages. She cleaned him up the best she could.

Another plus to his predicament was that Jo as well had plenty of experience with wounds since she had to clean her own no matter how dreadful they were. After cleaning Adam's cuts she quickly cleaned her own. She left what she didn't need in the alley and hoisted Adam over her shoulder once again. She had no idea where to take him. Defiantly not to the dorms. She already had most of the team furious with her; she didn't need them thinking that she almost killed Courtney's boyfriend. Jo kept flipping through her mind thinking of the perfect place she should take him. Then it hit her… the trainers. She could knock on the door, leave Adam there and go back to the dorms without letting the trainer see her. It was perfect. Fool proof. She shifted Adams limp body so she would be able to carry him better.

It wasn't that Jo didn't care about anyone it was just that her attitude was a result of her fathers lessons. She wanted to look after the team without hiding it and doing it in the shadows. It was just that her father had told her caring was for the weak. That leaning on someone was for those who couldn't take care of themselves. She tried to show that she saw everyone on the team as her friends but the lessons about caring and depending on others that her father had taught her rang in her ears each time she tried. One thing he had taught her though was about loyalty. In his eyes you need people you can be loyal to but they can't be friends. Because in his eyes if those people become your friends then they will leave or hurt you. To him loyalty and friendship were two different things. Which was part of Jo being so independent and her tough attitude to keep people away. She only half believed that lesson. In her eyes loyalty and friendship were two different things. Loyalty was a faithfulness given to those you trust. Friendship was a bond between people. But it didn't mean that loyalty was right and friendship was wrong.

Jo stopped at the trainers building and put Adam down by the door. She knocked on it and as soon as she heard footsteps she leaped into the bushes and laid low to the ground. She heard the shocked trainer's voice and was pleased that he noticed Adam. Once the trainer took Adam in side Jo got up and walked the perimeter of the building. She noticed Adam in one of the first rooms and waited for the trainer to finish cleaning his wounds before she came out of her hiding place. She leaned on the open windowsill and watched Adam. When Jo was sure the trainer was asleep she went into the room. She pulled up a chair and sat down at the foot of Adams bed.

"I'm not always like I act. I'm really a wreck inside. I don't mean to be so…well… you know. It's just the way I was raised. My dad always told me that depending on someone was for those who couldn't take care of themselves. Loyalty meant not having friends. Caring meant you were weak. I try to tell the team that I see them as friends but those lessons keep me from doing so. So I get mad at myself for not being able to tell them and I guess anger is the only emotion that breaks through. I have a good reason for keeping to myself though. You may not believe me but I do. You see one of my boyfriends… he hurts anyone I get near to. And by the time I find out what he's does to them they don't want anything to do with me. That man caused me so much pain, as well as many other people. That's why I act like I don't want to get close to you and your team. I'm afraid he might find me and I don't want the team getting hurt, especially Dean. I'm not as heartless as everybody thinks either. It's only that my father saw my emotions as a weakness or something. So I just kept everything inside, not letting any of my feelings out except anger since that seemed the only emotion he approved of. No matter what I did it never seemed to be enough to please him. Even when I did his rashest decisions perfectly he still gave me no credit. Instead he gave it all to my brothers whom usually had done the least amount of work," Jo was thankful that Adam was asleep. It was extremely easier to tell him how she truly felt.

"My father taught me how to fight, it wasn't always pleasant but, that was probably one of the best things he ever did for me. But I have to hand it to yeah… you seriously need to learn how to fight. I could teach you. It really isn't that hard. You just need to learn how to block, dodge and where to punch. Listen Adam I may not always show it but you and your team are some of my best friends." Jo stood up from her chair and went back to the windowsill and rested in the frame ready to run in case the trainer came back. She stayed there for most of the night.


	24. Chapter 24

Charlie had heard the coach say that if anyone had anything additional to say, come see him, but had he really meant it? He sure hoped so. He knocked on the large, wooden door nervously. Coach Bombay was inside on the phone, no doubtly doing "business." He motioned for Charlie to come in. Charlie opened the door and stepped inside a small square room. It reminded him of the nurse's office he had visited earlier during a fight between his team members. As Charlie waited for his coach to get off the phone, he sat down in a chair. The chair immediately sunk. Charlie squirmed uncomfortably in the chair. Coach Bombay turned to face Charlie as he gently placed the phone back on the hook.

"You know how since Luis is hurt, we're one down? Well, I think I may have a solution," he said all in one breath.

"What's that?" The coach replied, a little less friendly.

"Jo can play."

The coach made no move or change in expression, Charlie thought that maybe he didn't remember Jo. "She was the one who was wearing Portman's uniform during the Iceland game," he explained.

"I know who she is, Charlie," Coach Bombay responded harshly, "She was good. Nice skater, good with the puck, not a bad enforcer." He seemed to be talking to himself. Charlie thought it better not to interrupt. Instead, he glanced around the office that _Hendrix_ had given him. It was bland and the paint was a medium blue.

"Charlie, you have to give me the benefit of the doubt on this one. Jo will not play on this team."

"But Coach, she's good! You have to give her a chance!" Charlie cried exasperated.

"Charlie, I can't have someone who gets drunk and into fights on my team. For one thing, she'd be off the team faster than she got on it! Look at everything she's done! She's beat up on Courtney as well as other teammates, she's gotten drunk, she's vandalized private property; I think you get the idea."

"Coach, if she's on the team, she won't act that way. It'll be all right. She'll shape up. She'll want to stay with Portman. Please give her the chance, you want to win, don't you?" Charlie asked. The coach's eyes got wide. Charlie knew that would do it. Coach Bombay loved winning more than anything.

He rubbed his chin for a moment, then answered, "Okay, she can play as long as she doesn't cause any trouble like she did during the Iceland game."

"She won't cause any trouble," Charlie assured him.

"Okay, are you sure she wants to play?" The coach asked.

"Don't worry we've got it covered. Portman's talking to her about it."

Jo kept punching the punching bag over and over again with all of her strength. She was surprised that it hadn't broken by now. When she was angry or annoyed she always wanted to be alone, for her safety as well as others. One reason was because she trashed everything in sight or if someone was somewhere near her she beat the crap out of them. She felt someone's eyes on her and turned around.

"Hey. I thought it was you. Let me guess. You are going to pester me into joining the team just like Courtney?" Jo asked a bit annoyed. Dean walked the rest of the way towards Jo. He wrapped an arm around her waist.

"How about you take a break and we can talk?" Dean suggested. Jo nodded and took a seat on one of the benches. "Courtney just told me you weren't going to play for the team. But what I would like to know is… why?"

"I'll tell you what I told her. My mom died trying to get to one my games," Jo replied.

"But you played in the Iceland game," Dean pointed out.

"Yeah but that was different," Jo complained.

"No it wasn't. Now tell me the real reason you're not playing. It's not just because your mother died," Dean protested.

"Okay. You see when I played in the Iceland game I had a bunch of flashbacks of that game my mom died in. I remember how my dad looked when he found out, I remember when he told me the news. It was all over the news because so many cars were involved. But none of them died, only my mother died. The rest got banged up really bad," Jo said angrily but pain was in every word. "I had a bunch of stuff ringing in my ears from that whole day. The last thing I said to her was that I hated her. I never had a chance to say goodbye. That's why I rammed into Iceland so hard, all of the sadness from that night turned into anger and I took that anger out on the Iceland players."

"That's kind of what Courtney said. She told me that that game was harder on you then anyone of us thought. But if you don't want to play I wont force you to and I'll support you with your decision. I would like you to play for the team. But like I said I wont force you."

"Thanks. I'll think about it how's that?" Jo replied.

"Fine for me. Now c'mon lets go back to the dorms. I don't think that punching bag can take any more of your punches." Dean stated looking at the sorry state of the bag.


	25. Chapter 25

That night, things felt surreal to Courtney. So suddenly had Adam been torn away from her that it seemed like a dream? She was in denial and even made herself call the trainer to see if Adam was there. Unable to fall asleep, she stayed up with Connie and Dwayne and talked. Dwayne pulled out a puzzle of his hockey team in Texas.

"Whoa! How'd you get this puzzle?" Connie asked.

"My parents brought it to a little shop and they did it. Pretty cool, huh?" he gloated. No sooner had they gotten the puzzle out did they hear a knock on the door. Opening the door, Ken smiled.

"The guys kind of kicked me out," he said seriously.

"What'd you do?" Courtney asked.

"They said I burped too loud," he replied laughing. They gave him pathetic looks. "Hey, are you doing a puzzle?" he asked.

"Yeah," Connie responded.

"Cool, do you think I can help you?"

"Sure," Courtney shrugged. He plopped down beside them on they began work on the puzzle. Around midnight, they were finished. Ken said good-bye and left the room. Dwayne and Connie both climbed into their bunks and fell asleep. Courtney, on the other hand, had taken her pillow and a piece of paper and crawled into Adam's bed. Quietly, her head under the covers, she turned on the book light and started writing.

_Dear Diary,_

_Things have gotten worse than I thought they could. It seems like our coach is out to get us. Each day you wonder whether or not you're going to be able to make it through the daily ritual of pain. The only bright side was that I had Adam to go through all the pain with. Now I don't. I guess I should tell you the story. It seems that he just showed up at the trainer's door last night. He was pretty banged up. I laid with him for a while. Adam-not the trainer. He looked peaceful the way he was lying there. I doubt he even knew about the bruises and cuts he had. Or the fact that he had been unconscious. Stroking his head, I fell asleep. Then, my coach woke me up. Why couldn't he just leave me alone? He forced me to come back to the dorm with my team members just to be asked 'Are you okay' over and over again. It's times like that that I wish I could be like Jo and just punch them all. _

_Out of all the people to get hurt, why Adam? What has he ever done wrong? Nothing, that's what. He's never harmed anyone. I miss him a lot and it's only been one day- that can't be a good thing! Right now, I'm sleeping in his instead of mine. I guess in a way it makes me feel closer to him since he's not here. I'm counting down the days until he'll be back. We have a game in about two weeks, so hopefully he'll be here for it. I can't imagine what it's going to be like without him here. All I can do is pray that he'll be better. He's a strong guy; he can do it. Ya know, although sometimes he'll show you up, I still love him. He's got more brains than any of the other guys on the team. I wonder if he's sleeping right now or if he's awake. I wonder what he's thinking? Well, as for me, I'm beat, so this will be the end of my entry._

_-12:47 am_

Courtney stuffed the entry under her pillow and fell asleep. She didn't toss or turn one time that night. In fact, it was the best sleep she had gotten since she left home. However, when she woke up the next morning, the best sleep she had gotten disappeared from her mind thanks to a letter from her mother.

She hastily cut open the pink envelope. It wasn't like her mother to write a letter. She usually just called. This was the first sign that something bad was about to happen. Courtney noticed that the letter was almost two pages long; that was the second signal. Whatever it was about, either her mother was beating around the bush or she had a lot to say on the matter. Slowly, Courtney read the letter aloud to herself.

**_Dear Courtney,_**

**_I hope everyone is doing well. Make sure to tell them I said hello. I hope you haven't been out in the sun too much. When you go out wear sunscreen. _**

**_Everything is going smoothly here. It sure is quiet. Your father has been taping all of your games. Unfortunately, he also taped Iceland. How's your schooling going? How's Ms. MacKay. Is she still your team's tutor? She seemed very nice at the meeting. She also seemed like a good teacher._**

**_I suppose you all have been practicing more than usual considering your loss. You have another game in about a week or two, I'm sure the team will do just fine. Your team has been in our news a lot lately. Not always for good reason, either. We've heard some bad rumors. I hope they aren't true. I saw that your friend, Jo, was arrested. I hope you aren't getting yourself in to trouble. I also saw where Adam was injured. We're not really sure what happened: neither is his mother. There was a picture sent into the newspaper by an Iceland player named Olaf Sanderson of Adam at a pub. Dad said Mr. Banks nearly had a heart attack!_**

**_I've talked to your father about this and although he doesn't agree, I think you should take some time away from the team and come home. I'm not comfortable with you being there. Don't glare at this letter like I know you are. I know you're upset, but I think it's for the best. When you receive this, call me and we'll discuss it. And by discussing it I don' mean the negotiation of you staying there, I mean discussing when your plane leaves._**

**_Regards,_**

**_Mom_**

"Oh my gosh!" Courtney cried. How could her mother do this? Things were going from bad to worse! She picked up her cell phone and hurriedly dialed her home phone number.

"Hey Courtney," Her mother answered, "I thought you'd be calling soon."

"What is this letter about? You can't possibly be serious! Why would you do this?" Courtney asked, devastated.

"Look honey. I don't have much time to talk and neither do you. You need to pack all your things up. You're flight back home is tomorrow at eight am. It's flight number 95. I'll see you later at home. Bye sweet-ums," and with that her mother hung up the phone, leaving no time for debate on the issue.

Courtney slammed her bag down onto her bed and swiftly threw her clothes and assorted belongings into it. "I'm not your sweet-ums," she mumbled to herself heatedly. She took her shower and made her bed before waking Connie.

"What?" Connie mumbled in her sleep.

"Get up. We're gonna spend the day together. Maybe I'll teach you how to surf. C'mon. We've got all day no school or anything," Courtney instructed.

"Fine," Connie finally agreed. While Courtney waited for Connie to get dressed, she ran down the hall to Jo's room. A disgruntled Portman opened the door. At the sight of Courtney he paused for a moment.

"Last time I let you in, it didn't work out too well," Portman stated, "Do you really think I'm gonna let you back in?

"Then don't let me in," she said. "Jo, I'm gonna take Connie out and teach her how to surf. Can you come with us? You're a better surfer than I am."

Jo looked up at her, then at Portman, who shrugged. "I guess."

They both stood outside the bathroom door for over an hour waiting for Connie. When she finally emerged, they swiftly dragged her down to the beach. The sun overhead was scalding and the beach was crowded with tourists. They rented three surfboards and hurried into the water while there was still space. Courtney and Jo came to find that Connie was the most stubborn person of all time.

"No way am I gonna stand up on that thing," Connie said disgusted.

"Connie, that's how you surf. You have to stand up!" Courtney shouted angrily. She was losing her patience after only a few minutes.

"Look, find your balance spot on the board. Okay?" Jo asked, calmly. Connie nodded. She shifted on the board, but immediately fell into the water with a huge splash. A few little kids nearby laughed.

"What're you lookin' at?" Jo spat, splashing water onto them. They quickly swam away as Jo started towards them. She turned back to Connie. "Do it again."

"I can't do it. And look, I'm getting all wet! My mascara's going to run," Connie complained. Jo took a deep breath, gritting her teeth.

"Connie, just do it," Courtney said quietly. Connie reluctantly got back onto the board and tried again. This time, she didn't fall. _Thank you!_ Courtney thought. She looked around the beach at all the people sunbathing, but her eyes landed on Guy. "Hey, it's Guy!" she told Connie. "Don't you wanna show Guy how good you are at surfing?"

Connie instantly stood up on the surfboard as a wave came to her. Courtney and Jo were surprised that she could actually wave the ride all the way in.

"Oh, _now_ she does it. Of course, Guy comes out on to the beach and she acts like she knows what she's doing," Jo expressed, annoyed.

Connie didn't show any signs of coming back out to them. She let the surfboard drop back into the water and ran up onto the sand to Guy. Courtney started to swim inward. _Guess we're done_, she considered. Jo and Courtney returned the boards to the small shack just down the beach and left Connie to stay with Guy.

"Let's go to a movie. It'll be nice and cool," Courtney suggested.

"Whatever," Jo replied. "But after, I'm going back to my room." Courtney rolled her eyes. As they came up on the Movie Theater, they decided to see Spiderman. The theater was, to Courtney's surprise, virtually empty. She and Jo chose seats on the opposite side of the theater. _At least I won't have to be by her_, Courtney thought bitterly. _I thought maybe this day would bring us a little closer. _

Jo stuck to her word. The minute the movie was over, she left the theater and headed straight for her room. Courtney, however, chose to spend the remainder of the day on the beach. She was hoping she wouldn't run into anyone from the team. She spread out a towel and fell asleep under the sun. After two hours, she woke up to Dwayne's country music blaring in her ears.

"What's going on?" She muttered. Apparently, Dwayne had come out on to the beach and set up his stuff beside her. She quickly turned the volume down and pushed the boombox away from her head. The sun was starting to retreat now and Dwayne was approaching her.

"Sorry, did the music wake ya?" he asked.

"No," Courtney lied, sitting up. "How long have you been out here?"

" 'Bout an hour and a half, maybe." Dwayne said, pulling a sandwich from a cooler. He shoved it towards her as if offering it. Courtney rapidly shook her head. He shrugged and took a bite from it. Courtney slowly looked around the beach, in awe. Almost everyone who had been there earlier was gone now.

"I don't mean to rush off or anything, but I um, I think I'm gonna go back to the room now. I'll see you later," Courtney proclaimed. Dwayne nodded and helped her pick up her things. "I can't believe I've got to leave tomorrow," Courtney murmured to herself as she entered the room. She did a quick search of the room, making sure she had left nothing. She wasn't tired, but she didn't have the energy to do anything that day. _I'll just get to sleep early_, she thought. _After all, my flight does leave at 8 am._

Courtney couldn't stand looking at Adam's empty bed. Just when she needed him, he had been pulled away from her. She looked back and forth between his bed and her own. She laid all of her luggage down onto her bed and pulling back the covers on his, climbed in. She lay there for an hour before she could finally fall asleep.

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_ Courtney was suddenly awakened by her alarm going off at seven. She drowsily got up, changed and called a taxi to bring her to the airport. "Thank you, sir," she commented, paying him the money.

Silently, she sat waiting in the most uncomfortable chair she had ever been in for the announcement of her plane. When she finally did hear it, she walked the way to the plane avoiding everyone and sticking close to her things. She figured choosing a window seat would improve the chances of not being involved in any conversations.

Courtney watched as the figures of Los Angeles disappeared beneath her. Gradually, she fell into the thought of her teammates. What would they do when they found that Courtney was no longer a part of the team? How would Adam react? Would he call her? Would she be able to return to him after she had been sent home? So many thoughts clustered Courtney's brain. She had no chance to tell the team where she was going therefore they knew nothing. She placed a note in her room explaining that she had to return home, but failed to leave an adequate reason. There was no way that one note just a few sentences long would be able to explain the hurt and anger that was coursing through Courtney's veins at that moment. Not a moment of the flight did she fall sleep. She found that not much room was provided to her with the man beside her being over three hundred pounds. She watched disgusted as the man started eating a huge, greasy hamburger. She almost gagged as she watched food dribble down his chin.

When the plane finally landed, Courtney was the first off. _ I'd rather be anywhere but here_, she thought bitterly. She gathered up her luggage and spotted her mother waving frantically at her from across the gate. She sighed angrily and walked past her mother. They walked in silence to the car and the drive home was not much different. Courtney dropped off her bags at the door of her house and started for the answering machine.

"Courtney, aren't you going to say hi?" Mrs. Robertson asked, slightly hurt. Courtney spun to face her mother.

"Why should I? What have you done that would make me want to welcome you with arms wide open?" She shot back.

"I'm your mother and I love you. Isn't that a good enough reason?"

"No, it's not. If you love me so much, than why am I back home?

_"Courtney Paige Robertson!_ You listen to me this instant. I will not have you _gallivanting_ off in Los Angeles, California doing who knows what! I am your mother and you will do as I say!" Mrs. Robertson screamed. Courtney knew her mother was close to the edge, but she pushed the envelope anyway.

"No, you're _not_ my mother. _My_ mother would care about how her daughter feels about something. _My_ mother wouldn't take her child away from something that means so much to her just for herself. _My_ mother wouldn't treat her daughter this way! The only thing you've become to me is someone who sees _MY_ goals as nothing important and someone who doesn't care about what _I_ want to do with _MY_ life. You're someone who wants to take it into her own hands and live her childhood through me because she doesn't feel that it was '_GOOD ENOUGH_'!" Courtney screamed, even angrier than her mother. "I don't give a damn what _you're_ life was like! It may not have been good, but that gives you no reason to make mine just as bad! I know that isn't something dad told you to say! Because unlike _YOU_, he cares how _I_ feel and he cares about what _I_ want!" Courtney was being so rude to her mother that even Jo would've been proud. _I guess Jo has rubbed off on me more than I thought_, Courtney pondered.

"I do care about you! Why do you think I wanted you home?"

"_You took me away from Adam, mom!_ Can't you understand that?" Courtney screamed through tears. It was hard to carry on, but she wasn't about to give up, "The _only_ person I've ever truly cared about and now he's miles away sitting somewhere without me! The _one_ person who was always by my side when I felt things were going wrong! The _only_ person that I could turn to when I had a problem! The _only_ person who would comfort me at night when I would wake up from a bad dream or was worried about something! You took me away from the game that made my life something more! You took away the part of me that made more than just Courtney Robertson. I was _someone_ there, mom. And you don't care _one bit_!"

"I brought you home not for selfish reasons but because I didn't want to see you hurt. You haven't seen the headlines for other teams. They're getting injured right and left. What if you were one of them?" Mrs. Robertson asked, her voice softening.

"If I was one of them, then that would be okay with me, because at least I would be out on the ice doing something I love with all of my friends!"

Courtney and her mother glared at one another. It was like two preschoolers having a staring contest. Thankfully, her father, Daniel, opened their front door.

"Hey Courtney! How's my little…" his voice trailed off as he saw Courtney's puffy eyes and Mrs. Robertson's glare. "What happened here?" Courtney scowled at him. She didn't know how to react to the man that she knew as her father who had partaken in her coming home. She sighed, hurt, and climbed up the stairs to her room.

She slowly approached room, wiping the tears that were still falling. She knew her mother had never been thrilled about her playing hockey, but she never dreamt that she would do something like this.

Opening the door to her room, she saw that it was the same as it had been when she left. Her bed was made with a purple comforter and green sheets. The light blue glow from her room calmed her as she lay down. There wasn't much light in her room. It was beginning to grow dark outside and curtains covered her window. They blew back and forth with the night breeze. Courtney had buried her head in her pillows when she heard the familiar ring of her phone. She groaned as she rolled over and picked up her telephone.

"Hello?" Courtney asked, suspiciously.

"Hey Courtney," she heard a voice answer.

"Who is this? _Jo_? Jo, is that you?"

"Naw, it's the Easter Bunny," Jo replied sarcastically.

"What do you want, Jo? I'm really not in the mood right now," Courtney mumbled, unhappily. She tried to keep her voice as steady as she could. _Don't cry; not now. Not while you're on the phone talking to Jo, of all the people, _Courtney thought to herself_._

"I can kind of tell, but I was the lucky person who got to talk to you. Trust me, I didn't do this out of choice."

"Why you? Why not someone who I can actually tolerate? Like Charlie or Connie? Oh and here's an idea! How about my boyfriend, Adam?"

"Like I said, I didn't do this out of choice. The team thought I owed this to you," Jo responded. Courtney heard murmurs in the background.

"Is someone on the line with you?" Courtney questioned.

"PUT THE PHONE DOWN NOW UNLESS YOU WANT TO END UP BEING MY NEW PUNCHING BAGS!" Jo bellowed into the phone. Courtney quickly snapped the phone away from her ear. Immediately, she heard someone slam down the receiver on the other end. "Well, that worked," she sighed happily.

"Well…what do you want?" Courtney asked grumpily. She wanted this conversation to end. If the team had chosen Jo to talk to Courtney, than chances were that it was not very good news that she was calling about.

"It's not what _I_ want, it's what the _team_ wants. They want to know why you left so abruptly. I for one thought you would've at least told _Adam_ something."

"You have my rotten, good for nothing, selfish-" Courtney stopped herself, taking a breath. She continued on, "My mother wanted me to come home so that she could make my life miserable."

"You could've at least told the team. Adam's moping around 'cause you're not here, Connie's off in la la land, and Charlie is hanging around with Adam doing the same thing. Dwayne's actually being smart, Goldberg's not eating and Averman is using common sense, and Luis is avoiding the ladies. Does that give you a bit of a hint of how everyone is without you?"

"Hey, it's not my fault! Do you think I wanted to leave? Why would I leave all of my friends right in the middle of the most important event in my life to come sit my butt at home and do nothing! I _want_ to be there! If you know any way to convince my mom to let me be there than please don't hesitate to suggest ideas!" Courtney clamored defensively.

Jo was silent. Courtney sighed in deeply and continued on.

"My mother doesn't want me to skate. I don't know why and don't know how it began. She doesn't seem to want me to live out my dream. It's almost like she doesn't even care how I feel as long as she can make herself happy. I know you probably can't understand that."

"Actually Courtney, I know a whole lot more about you and everyone else than what you think," Jo stated. Courtney felt that for once she was actually making a connection with Jo. Here they were so far from one another and truly having a civil conversation when at one time they were in the same room at each other's throat.

"Well…do you think you could help me, though? I mean, I'm going to need some ideas about getting my mom to let me go back," Courtney whispered.

"Talk to the coach and see if he'll talk to your mom. That might not be the best idea, but it might help."

"Talk to the coach? That's your brilliant idea?" Courtney cried sarcastically.

"He's gotten a lot better since you left."

"Oh, great! Way to make me feel better, Jo!" Courtney could hear her voice wavering.

"I'm not saying he's better 'cause you left, I'm just saying that I think he's seen the "error" of his ways."

"I don't know if that will help. Can you do me a favor, though?"

"Depends, what's your favor?"

"Is Charlie near you?" Courtney was sick of talking to Jo and she knew she was about to cry again. She didn't think Jo would be very sensitive to her crying over the phone, but she knew who would.

"Um…no, but I can go get him. Why do you need Charlie? Why not me?"

"I just want to see if he has any ideas. I know this may sound unbelievable to you, but there was someone that could talk me through problems like this before you and Adam," Courtney snapped. "He's just got a different mind than most people. He's always got good ideas."

"You didn't have to snap at me. He's right beside me. I try an' do this one little thing by helping you and you yell at me," Jo reacted.

"Well then put him on the line!"

"Fine!" Jo yelled. Courtney waited patiently as the phone was switched to Charlie.

"Hey, Courtney. Listen, I know this might sound a little rash right now. But I think it just might work. All right, I think Jo should go to your house and talk to your mom."

"WHAT?!" Courtney cried. She heard Jo react the exact way.

"Yes, you heard me right. I'll come too. We don't have a game for a while, so we'll both be there. I honestly think this might work!" Charlie exclaimed.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure that getting into a fight with Jo in front of my mom is going to convince her to let me go back! What is my mom gonna do when she sees Jo? She'll freak Charlie. She will absolutely freak! She'll have a heartache right there in the living room!" Courtney cried out, through tears.

"Yeah, Charlie! Her mom will hate me! Every time I go to someone's house, the minute they see my hair, they throw me out." Courtney heard Jo add.

"Wear a wig, sheesh," Charlie whispered to her. "Look, I just think that if your mom hears what we have to say, she'll give in. I know your dad wants you here. He'll listen. Just give your dad the opportunity to defend your feelings against what your mother says, okay? He'll come through for you. Remember when you wanted to go with me to that bowling party and camping trip with our church? Your mom kept saying no, that something dangerous might happen out in the woods." Courtney smiled, remembering. "Your dad was on your side. When he was given the chance, he wasn't about to let your mom stop you from something you really wanted to do. Now, do you really think he's gonna give up on something this big?" Charlie laughed. This was why Courtney had wanted to speak to him. He always knew just what to say. Jo hadn't known things like that from the past that could be related to the situation now, Charlie did.

"I guess you're right. Charlie, I'm gonna go talk to my dad. I feel kind of bad now about shrugging him off earlier. Listen, just call me back later and tell me when you and Jo will be here. I'm actually looking forward to it now."

"I'm not that thrilled," Courtney heard Jo reply on the other end.

"All right. Just, take it easy, okay?" Courtney could hear relief in his voice as well as something she had never heard before. She started to pick up on memories of before going to the games and a thought ran through her mind. "Courtney? Courtney?" Charlie repeated.

"Uh, yeah. I'm here."

"Just be careful up there. Watch you say. I miss you too much to have you say something stupid to your mom and for you not to come back." It was care and concern for her that was so obvious in what he was saying.

"I won't say anything bad. I'll be okay. See ya later," Courtney said monotonously, hanging up the phone. Courtney didn't move from the bed, but looked over at herself in the mirror. She stared back into her eyes for at least five minutes. Finally, she took a deep breath and muttered, "He likes me."


	26. Chapter 26

Jo was quieter than usual and broodier as well. Most of the team made sure to give her her space. Dean came up to her later in the day to try and figure out why his girlfriend was so moody. He found her outside on the roof of the dorms. Surprisingly she was playing her harmonika; a skill that he had never known she had. He quietly walked up behind her and kissed her on the cheek.

"No offence but why have you been so…well… moody," Dean asked.

"Well Charlie had this great idea that both of us should go to Minnesota and try and get Courtney back on the team. So now I have to go and help someone I cant stand," Jo explained.

"How long are you going to be gone?" Dean asked.

"Less then a week," Jo replied.

"All right. Just don't check out any other guys," Dean laughed.

"Anything else?" Jo asked.

"Yeah. Don't get in any fights,"

"Aw man," Jo complained. "Now I have to give Fulton back his boots." Dean laughed at the joke.

"You can get in as many fights as you want when you get back," Dean promised. "I want some of the action too."

"Glory hog," Jo said under her breath.

"Just be careful," Dean said smoothly giving her a strong hug.

"All right I will," Jo said after returning the hug.

Dean's arm fell upon one of Jo's bandages around her arm. Pulling back Dean asked about it and where it came from.

"You know that first night Adam wasn't here?" Jo asked leaning on the railing looking out at the people below.

"Yeah. It's kind of strange isn't it? Him being dropped off at the trainers like that," Dean replied.

"I was the one who brought him there," Jo confessed quietly.

"You saved him? Well I guess Courtney is grateful to you," Dean stated.

"She doesn't know. I don't even think Adam remembers," Jo replied.

"Well I'm glad you're all right," Dean stated. "But you should tell her."

"No it's better this way," Jo admitted quietly.

Early the next day, things were fine with Courtney's dad again. Her father had understood why she had acted like that towards him. Courtney still felt somewhat guilty for how she had treated him, but the thought of Charlie and Jo coming filled her with hope. Things were rather bland at her house, so she was more than happy about getting to school and away from her mother's dirty looks.

Things weren't that much better at school. The first few days, people were filled with questions, than rumors started to accumulate. "I heard she got kicked off for drugs," Courtney heard one of her classmates say. "No, I heard it was because she got in a fight with another team," someone else. Courtney never corrected the "buzz" of the school. She didn't care after awhile. When she walked into Mrs. Baxter's science classroom, it wasn't surprising when she saw a group of girls' scuttle to their desks when she sat down. She wouldn't make eye contact with any of them.

It was halfway through the period when Nicole Strafer leaned over Courtney's desk to talk to Stacy Walker.

"Did you hear?" Nicole whispered. Courtney rolled her eyes wondering why people decided to torment her this way.

"Hear what?" Stacy whispered excitedly.

"About the girl?"

"Which girl?" Stacy asked again.

"The girl from the USA hockey team!" Nicole pressed.

"What about her?"

"Guys, could you not talk about me right in front of me?" Courtney demanded, a little too loudly.

"Is there a problem Ms. Robertson?" Mrs. Baxter asked.

"No ma'am," Courtney asked, her face burning.

"Do not think that just because you have played for the USA hockey team it means that you can talk during my class. I don't know how your schooling was handled in California, but I hope you have not forgotten how we little people do it in Minnesota."

"No, Mrs. Baxter."

"Then I suggest you hush right now." Mrs. Baxter turned back to the board and continued writing the notes. Nicole leaned back over Courtney's desk.

"It's not about you Courtney," Nicole responded disgusted. Courtney gave her a quizzical look. If it wasn't her then who was it? Surely Connie wouldn't be back.

"She's got blonde hair with black bangs."

Courtney gasped and immediately looked towards the door just in time to see Jo standing there.

"JO!" She screamed, standing up. "What in the world are you doing here?"

"_MS. ROBERTSON!_ WHAT DID I TELL YOU? THIS IS THE _SIXTH_ TIME IN _TWO_ DAYS THAT I'VE HAD TO TELL YOU TO HUSH AND SIT DOWN-"

"SHUT UP YOU OLD HAG!" Courtney screamed. She didn't know where her energy came from. She breathed in heavily and waited for Mrs. Baxter to answer.

"Get up here," she replied quietly. Courtney didn't move. "Get up here. Your little friend can wait."

"Excuse me?" Jo shouted. "I will not wait!"

"Would you like in on this trip to the principal?" Mrs. Baxter threatened

"See if I care. I don't even go here!" Jo laughed and shrieked at the same time.

"Well then, Ms. Robertson should have all the fun she can for interrupting my classroom in the way she just did. Who do you think you are anyway? Walking into my classroom in the middle of my lesson with your horrific hair and terrible-"  
"YOU KNOW, IF YOU KNEW WHAT WAS BEST FOR YOU, YOU'D SHUT YOUR OLD WRINKLED MOUTH UP BEFORE I REARRANGE YOUR FACE!" Jo proclaimed.

"Whoa!" One of the boys expressed. "Sounds like you're insulting our teacher."

"I could rearrange your face while I'm at it!" The boy didn't speak anymore after that. The rest of the room was quiet for a few moments. Mrs. Baxter looked stunned and no one knew what to say.

"Mrs. Baxter I'm sorry for interrupting-actually I'm not, but I came to get Courtney because she-she has to go back to the doctor's. You see, that's why she's been acting so strangely…" Jo said calmly, catching Courtney's eye. Courtney understood to go along with her.

"Yeah, I do. I've been though-" Courtney started.

"_Trauma_ that is a-affecting her concentration. She-she recently suffered through a death of a, uh, a very close uncle. The doctor is giving her medicine and she should be okay soon." Mrs. Baxter looked at Courtney sympathetically.

"Well, I'm very sorry. I didn't know. You may go with Ms…"

"Portman," Jo said quickly.

"Portman," Mrs. Baxter repeated. "You can go, Courtney."

"Thank you," Courtney commented, grabbing her things. Once outside in the hallway, Courtney turned to Jo.

"My dead uncle?" Courtney demanded. "Dead uncle!" She shouted louder. "Now I have to pretend that I have a dead uncle! And what are you doing here?!"

"You know, for someone coming to help you, you're not too grateful, are you?"

"Not when someone says I have a dead uncle?!"

"Whatever," Jo sighed.

"Where's Charlie?" Courtney demanded grabbing Jo's arm.

"Okay first things first, do NOT touch me. Charlie's at your house trying to talk to your mom."

"Well then let's get going. You know, you should've sent him here to get me. He wouldn't have just made a big scene in front of my science class!" Courtney yelled.

"Look, just get in the car so we can get back and talk all this through."

"Oh no, I'm not getting into a car with you!" Courtney was smart enough to want to live and she was not about to get into a car with someone who was careless enough with other things.

"Courtney, I have a permit. I know what I'm doing! And it made more sense that I came to pick you up. These people know Charlie and second, think about me staying at home with your mom. Can you picture that? Yeah, not pretty."

"All right, I'll get in the car with you." Courtney opened up the door. "Wait, you have a Hummer? You didn't steal it did you? Oh no, nope I am NOT getting in there!"

"Relax, its your dad's, remember? You're mom wasn't there at the time, so I took your dad's car." Courtney relaxed and climbed into her father's blue Hummer. Jo had the radio fixed on a certain station and she wasn't about to change the station. Finally, Courtney got up the nerve to ask Jo about Adam.

"Uh, Jo…how's Adam?" She questioned quietly. It took Jo awhile to finally answer.

"Well, he was a still moping, but he was happier when we told him we were coming to get you. We figured we would let him talk to your mom as well Charlie. If you want, we can get Jesse's dad to call and talk with her."

"How'd you know that?" Courtney shot back.

"Adam and Charlie. I do need to know these things if I'm gonna help."

"Whatever, so I guess that means Adam isn't like…you know…cheating or anything?"

"Courtney, I know you aren't that stupid! Do you trust him at all?"

"Of course I do!" Courtney replied defensively.

"Then just let him be."

"Well…why'd you leave Portman?" Courtney inquired.

"Because I trust him." At the moment, they were pulling into Courtney's driveway and Charlie was already out of the door.

"Charlie!" Courtney shouted at once. She practically jumped out of the car and into his arms. She had to admit that she was happy to see him. He was a sight for sore eyes.

"Hey, what's been going on? Did you miss me?" He asked with a smile.

"Uh, not really," Courtney joked. She returned the smile and with her arm hooked with Charlie's she headed into the house.

"Courtney! Do you want me to wear a bandana or hat?" Jo asked cautiously.

"That's a good idea. Wear a hat, not a bandana."

"It's just a plain colored bandana," Jo mumbled.

"I don't care. Just wear a hat. This is my house and I give the orders," Courtney said sternly.

"As long as I'm the one who can beat you, I'll be givin' the orders here. Plus, your little boyfriend's not here to protect you."

"Just wear a hat," Courtney muttered.

The first thing Mrs. Robertson did when they walked into the house was ask Jo to take off her hat.

"Uh, no thanks."

"Oh no, please take it off, just throw it wherever. I want you to feel right at home."

"No, I-my hair looks really bad right now. I'll just keep the hat on."

"You can go upstairs and brush it, if you like," Mrs. Robertson offered, showing her the way up the stairs.

"Mom, drop it!" Courtney stated. Her mother flashed a frown at her and turned to the cookies that she and Charlie had been eating. She grabbed a few and shoved them into Jo's hands.

"Thanks," Jo said unsure. Mr. and Mrs. Robertson sat down on the couch, Courtney and Charlie sat across from them on the chairs and Jo leaned against the wall behind Courtney and Charlie.

"What brings you here?" Mrs. Robertson asked. She looked from Jo's hat to her heavy coat. It was almost eighty degrees out. Why was she wearing a coat? Jo noticed her staring and hoped that Courtney's mother hadn't seen her tattoo. "Would you like to take your coat off? I don't believe I got your name."

"I don't mind warm weather. My name's Jo," Jo replied.

"Jo is sort of a teammate of mine," Courtney added.

"Oh all right. So what brings you and Charlie to Minnesota?" Mrs. Robertson asked.

"Courtney. She called us and told us that she missed the feel of hockey. So we came here to try and convince you to let her play for the team again," Jo said.

"Thanks Jo, way to approach the subject subtly," Charlie alleged.

"Well it's either approach it directly or size up your competition, find their weak points and go for the kill," Jo said.

"Nicely said Jo," Courtney replied sarcastically.

"It has always worked for me in the past," Jo replied.

"Okay, hold up for a minute. Do you think that you two coming down here is really going to get me to allow Courtney to go back to California?" Mrs. Robertson complained.

"Well we're hopeful," Charlie stated. There was an awkward silence. Courtney cleared her throat.

"Dad, what do you think?" Courtney asked curiously.

"I would like to see you go, but your mother thinks otherwise," he responded, not looking at his wife.

"Can I please talk to you Mrs. Robertson in the kitchen? Jo, why don't you take a walk with Mr. Robertson?" Charlie suggested. Jo nodded and walked toward the door with Mr. Robertson at her heals. Charlie and Mrs. Robertson went into the kitchen.

Jo and Mr. Robertson walked the sidewalk opposite of Courtney's house. Mr. Robertson took a long glance at Jo.

"You look like the type of person who knows what they're talking about. You've been through a lot haven't you?" Courtney's dad asked.

"Yes. My whole strategy dealing with persuasive conversations is from hanging around too many lawyers," Jo said.

"Yes, I know how that is. I had a few problems in my day. I just don't understand why my wife doesn't give Courtney the chance to go out and have fun. She is always cooping her up in the house."

"She is trying to protect her. More than my parents ever did," Jo said half to her self.

"But there is such a things as overprotection." Mr. Robertson commented.

"I'm not saying that your wife is right to coop Courtney in the house I'm just stating her motives. But yes Courtney is being over protected," Jo agreed.

"I agree, but I just wish that she would give Courtney more freedom."

"I understand but I had too much freedom and look how I turned out. You want to protect your child with out letting them do what they want whenever they want. Here let me rephrase that. You want to protect them but let them be them and live their dreams and make their own choices in life," Jo said.

"Your pretty smart for your age. Very understanding and observant too," Mr. Robertson complimented.

"Observant fits me really well. Everyone thinks I know nothing about them or their life and problems but I know a lot more then they let on. I all ready know a lot about Courtney and half of it she didn't have to tell me. Understanding? Well…I can be but you have to understand that where I grew up disagreements were usually settled with a fight. No I don't mean verbal I mean hard physical fighting," Jo stressed.

"Sounds a little like one of my friend's childhood."

"Who was your friend?" Jo asked.

"Logan Mitchell. We caused a load of trouble in our day. We put a quantity of stink bombs in the hallway, played pranks on the teacher and received detention," Mr. Robertson laughed.

"You knew my father!"

"Who? Logan?"

"Yes! He's my father. I'm Jo Mitchell or Bombay now since I've been adopted," Jo said shocked. Mr. Robertson faced Jo and studied her description.

"You _are_ his daughter! You're almost the spiting image of Rachel. But there is definitely Logan in you," Mr. Robertson stated.

"You knew my mother too? Where you there at the wedding?" Jo asked.

"Yes I knew your mother. I was the one who introduced her to your father. I was also you fathers best man," Mr. Robertson explained.

"Is this you?" asked Jo taking a folded picture out of her back pocket. She carried the picture with her everywhere. It was the only thing she had that signified that her parents were happy together at one point.

"Yes. That's me next to your father. That was a good day," Mr. Robertson sighed happily. "I remember when your brother was born. What was his name? Remy wasn't it?"

"Yeah! I haven't seen him in a while though. The last I heard of him, he was in New Orleans," Jo stated.

"I can't recall what he looked like. The last time I saw him he was on the news," Mr. Robertson commented.

"Last I saw he had dark brown hair and red eyes. Please don't ask where he got the unusual eye color. I just know he has them. Maybe its because of where they lived or something," Jo pondered.

"They didn't always live in a trailer park. Although, I think for most of your life they did. I remember before Courtney was born that we would go visit them, but that's about it," Mr. Robertson said.

"They spent most of their money on thief/ spy like equipment or some stuff similar to that. They spent the house on that just because we had to be the "better" outlaws," Jo said sarcastically.

"I don't understand," Mr. Robertson said.

"My fathers side of the family is well…a thief family and we have this rival family that used to be our allies. But my great grandfather and their great grandfather got in this argument so now our families try to out do each other but stealing stuff and doing some other crap," Jo said.

"That would explain why I haven't heard from him in a while," Mr. Robertson said to himself. "He didn't want me or my family to get hurt so he stayed away from us to protects us."

"I doubt he'd do that. He probably doesn't remember you," Jo said coldly.

"Maybe," Mr. Robertson said. "Lets head back, shall we?" Jo nodded and followed Mr. Robertson back to the house.

Mrs. Robertson gladly made dinner for her two guests. She set the table with fancy plates and tablecloths. The conversation was light and much more cheerful than Courtney imagined it would be. She was grateful that Charlie and Jo seemed to be intelligent enough to get through dinner without bringing up the hockey issue. Mrs. Robertson made up a bed in Courtney's room for Charlie to sleep in, while Jo got the extra bedroom. This gave Courtney and Charlie ample time to talk that night. They didn't get to bed until early the next morning.


	27. Chapter 27

"Pancakes! C'mon! I made breakfast now come eat it!" Courtney's mother was screaming up the stairs. Gradually, Courtney awoke and trudged down the stairs to her breakfast, completely forgetting that Charlie and Jo were currently at her home.

"What are you doing here?" She asked inquisitively.

"You're just as bad as Adam was that morning when Jo got arr- are we having any bagels?" Charlie asked, changing his words when Mrs. Robertson turned toward him curiously at the mention of Jo's name. "We got here yesterday, remember?" Charlie replied, sarcastically. Courtney vigilantly shook her head, trying to awaken herself fully. She sat down and ate her breakfast with no major commotion or excitement.

"What do you plan on doing today?" Jo asked, sprinting down the stairs later that afternoon. "Shouldn't you be in school or something?"

"It's Saturday, Jo. And I have no clue what I'm doing today. I feel like just sitting here and doing nothing. It's just not one of those days where you feel up to anything," Courtney responded.

"Crabby pants," Jo murmured. Courtney scoffed and followed Jo upstairs.

"What exactly did you want to do?" She asked.

"I figured you want to get out of this house. So, just kinda hang around somewhere."

"No. I don't really feel up to it. It might be a good idea to talk to my mom because I've had no progress," Courtney responded.

"You don't think we can do it, do you?" Charlie asked, emerging from the bathroom.

"Honestly, no I don't think you can because my mom is as stubborn as a mule."

"At least now we know where you get from," Jo retorted sarcastically. "If you'd rather get into an argument with your mom than go out and have fun, than by all means, go ahead."

Courtney glared at Jo and left the room. _I don't care what she thinks_, Courtney thought over, Of_ course she wouldn't care; it's not her life. At least Charlie's here to actually help. Jo's probably just here because the coach couldn't stand another minute of her being there._

Mrs. Robertson was flipping through magazines and the newspaper when Courtney walked through the doorway. She cleared her throat, "I need to talk to you."

Mrs. Robertson looked up, "Go ahead then. I'm not going anywhere. Take a seat. I have a feeling this will be long."

"Mom, please help me to understand why you won't let me play," Courtney whined, sitting next to her mother on the couch.

"There's not much to it," Mrs. Robertson sighed, exhausted. Courtney gave her a pleading look. "All right, I just…well, it's just lonely here without you and I don't want my baby getting hurt. You don't know what it's like to go to sleep every night and wonder if someone you love is going to be okay in the morning."

"Actually, I do," Courtney mumbled, remembering Adam. She had fallen asleep countless times recently, wondering if he would be okay when the morning came around. Courtney smiled nervously as her mother glances at her curiously. "Mom, I know you miss me, but so do all of my friends in Los Angeles. Their parents loved them enough to give them this opportunity, and if you get hurt oh well. Accidents happen; you know that. Everything happens for a reason." Charlie emerged at the doorway a few seconds later.

"Sorry to intrude, but Courtney: Adam's mom is here. She wants to give you something," he alleged. Courtney jumped up immediately at the sound of Adam's name. She followed Charlie through the room and to the front door. She smiled as she caught sight of Adam's mother and brother. They both smiled back at her. Adam's brother stuck out his hand and Courtney graciously shook it.

"I'm Asa," he introduced himself. Asa was an exact image of Adam, but a little taller.

"How've you've been, Courtney?" His mother asked hurriedly.

"Fine, thank you. What about you?"

"Well, it's been a little quieter. I hope Adam's doing better. I spoke with him a few minutes ago. He feels a little better!" Mrs. Banks exclaimed. Mrs. Banks had the same hair color and texture of Adam's. It was pushed back behind a red headband. Her eyed lit up as she handed Courtney a package. Courtney looked the package over and switched it from hand to hand.

"Wha-what is it?" Courtney stammered. Charlie was eyeing it too. He reached out for it, but withdrew his hand when he got an intense glare from Asa.

"Open it," Asa responded, smiling too. Gently, Courtney undid the tape along the sides and gasped. She allowed the brown paper to fall to the floor. It was a picture frame. Noticing a piece of cardboard slid between the frame, she pulled it out. Smiling up at her where the sixteen young faces of the Hawks 1999 team. Courtney couldn't find her voice. She singled out the faces of Adam, Dwayne, and herself. She didn't have a picture of her teammates while she was on the Hawks. Unsure of whether or not she should keep it, she handed it back to Adam's mother.

"Keep it," she whispered kindly, "Show it to your mother, Courtney."

"Why?" Charlie asked, snatching the picture from Courtney's hands, "What good will that do?"

"Just…do. It's a mother thing. Courtney, a bit of advice: let your mom know how you feel about hockey. Tell her why you love it so much. Just explain how it makes you feel," Mrs. Banks whispered a twinkle in her eyed. Asa was nodding in agreement. Courtney obediently nodded. "Well, we've got to be going."

"Adam wanted me to give this to you, it's a letter. And he says hi," Asa proclaimed.

"Thanks," Courtney muttered as watched them disappear behind her front door. Charlie flattened himself against the door.

"Why did she give you a picture? How will that make any difference at all? I don't get it," he stated confused. Courtney stared out the window at the Banks' car backing out of her driveway. Finally, she turned to Charlie.

"I'm beginning too…" she voiced.

"Then, can you explain it to me? I'm lost."

Courtney nodded, "But first, we've got something else to settle. "Courtney took in a deep breath, "Something about you and me."

Charlie's eyes grew wide, "I don't understand," he said innocently, but with a hint of fear. Courtney grabbed Charlie's hands and pulled him up the stairs. She made sure to lock her door and turned to Charlie. Charlie's eyes averted around her room_. He's not going to admit it,_ Courtney thought shocked. She had to approach it differently. She thought she knew a way.

"Oh, Adam, please forgive me for this," she whispered to herself. Courtney threw Charlie down on the bed and fell beside him, kissing him hard on the lips. Charlie pulled himself closer to Courtney. She automatically knew Charlie liked her. _Let go!_ Courtney screamed in her head. Showing her loyalty to Adam, she broke free. She waited for Charlie to speak first.

"Okay, Courtney, so I do like you," he admitted with a mischievous grin on his face. He grabbed her hand and pulled it to his face. "How do you feel?"

"Weird," she responded, "Charlie, you're a great guy and friend, but I don't see us…ya know, dating. Don't take it hard. Who knows what'll happen in the future? I have Adam and I see us going places. You need a girl who isn't tied to something or someone already," Courtney explained. Charlie's hand had fallen from his face, but Courtney's hadn't. "You've always been there for me and I'm here for you. True, I care for Adam more than anyone, but you're still my number one guy. "Charlie smiled slightly.

"Okay," he laughed. "Now go on and talk to your mom."

"You gonna be all right?" Courtney asked before shutting the door. Charlie gave her a forced nod. "I hope he's okay," Courtney mumbled going down the stairs. Courtney's thoughts of Charlie banished when she sat back down with her mother. Courtney had retrieved the Hawk's picture from the stairs and was pulling it from behind her back when her mother noticed.

"What is that? Is that what Adam's mother dropped off?" Mrs. Robertson questioned interested.

Courtney eyed the picture. "Yeah," she smiled. She handed the picture to her mother. Mrs. Robertson got a worried look on her face. Courtney studied her face. Her usual young, fun-loving face wasn't the same. She looked older, more tired, and worn out.

"You really want to go back, don't you?" She asked, her voice faltering. Courtney nodded. "I've explained to you why I don't want you there, so you tell me why you want to be there?"

"Mom, you just don't understand how great it is. I love being there with all of my friends and being able to do something that I love so much and be recognized for it," Courtney sighed.

"But why do you love it so much? This is one of those times when you have to help _me_ understand."

"I don't know how to explain the feeling, mom," Courtney cried exasperated. "It's like I'm in a whole other world. A world where everything is perfect, there are no worries, no problems, nothing but you and the ice. You're gliding along the ice and you just feel free. You feel like you're flying; you're on top of the world. The roar of the crowd is so powerful. It gives you determination and a special motivation to be the very best you can. It brings out a different side that no one has ever seen. The side that you want to show to everyone, but you're too afraid. Mom, I don't want to lose that feeling. I want to be back there so that I can have that emotion. I want to be able to continue on with this. It gives your life a new meaning. It's something new that you can work towards until you achieve your true potential," Courtney cried through tears. "Please, don't make me leave that. I want to be there. It's what made my life something better when everything seemed old and tired." Mrs. Robertson stared into her daughter's eyes. They were sincere and she knew that Courtney truly wanted to be there.

"Courtney, I can't give you an answer right now. You'll have to wait until your father comes home," Mrs. Robertson said slowly. She glanced back down at the picture. "I remember when this was taken. You were excited that day. It was one of your very first games."

"If you let me play then, why won't you now?" Courtney asked.

"Things changed, Courtney. I'm not really in the situation where I can explain everything now. Like I said, wait until your father gets home. "Courtney heard a car door slam shut and bounded off the couch thinking it was her father. Her smile faded into a frown as she saw Jo walking towards the door.

"You and I have got some serious talkin' to do, Courtney. What the hell-o Mrs. Robertson," Jo said quickly as she caught site of Courtney's mother at her side. Courtney's mother didn't greet her in return. She was staring at Jo's hair. Courtney grimaced as she notices that Jo wasn't wearing a hat.

"Mom, why don't you go inside," Courtney suggested quickly, shoving her mother off to the side.

"I do hope you didn't do that to our hair while you were here. Or is that why you wouldn't take off your hat before?" Mrs. Robertson commented, pushing her daughter away from her. Jo sighed heavily.

"Look, different people have different styles. I'm tired of hiding it. This is me. Your daughter has accepted it, why can't you?" Courtney was anxiously shaking her head and making gestures for Jo to stop talking before she said that, but it was too late. Courtney glared at Jo. "You know something else? I also have a tattoo, I'm not hiding that anymore either." Courtney was going crazy. She was trying to sustain herself from choking Jo.

"Anything else?" Courtney's mother demanded.

"No!" Courtney yelled as she ran up to Jo and covered her mouth. "Nothing more!"

"Get your hands off me," Jo mumbled raging. Courtney glanced at her, giving her a warning.

"Do you see now, why I didn't want you in California?"

"Thanks a lot Jo, I had just gotten her to change her mind too," Courtney muttered angrily. "She's just one person, mom. They aren't all like her. "Jo was giving Courtney such a look of hatred that Mrs. Robertson was surprised she didn't see a hole burned through her daughter.

"You better hope they aren't," Courtney's mother replied, making the situation worse. "I don't want her in this house making a bad influence on you."

"It's only one more night. She's not always like this. Don't be fooled by her description," Courtney said, trying to help the circumstances.

"Courtney, I don't care. Look at her. Her hair...and she has a tattoo? For all I know, she probably lives in some trailer park."

"Actually, I did," Jo retorted. Courtney silently screamed.

"Not the right thing to say," Courtney muttered heatedly.

"I don't care. You better tell your mom to watch her mouth or she'll wish she had never met me," Jo threatened. "You know I'll fight her, Courtney. She's just provoking me." Courtney knew she would fight, but she didn't want that to happen.

"Mom, just forget about it. Your hair doesn't change your personality. Just, do me this favor. Dad doesn't have a problem with her."

"Yes, well your father and I have had a lot of disagreements in the past few years."

"Mom, stop. She's only here for one more night and she's a friend of mine. She's staying whether you like it or not," Courtney confirmed.

"_Hello_! I _am_ right here! Do you think maybe we could go inside where your neighbors aren't listening and giving me all these looks 'cause I'll take them on too!" Jo warned.

"Yeah, you're right," Courtney answered, escorting her mother and Jo into the house.

Courtney had been patiently waiting for the arrival of her father. However, her mother informed her that he would be working all night. Despite that, the excitement of her mother considering Courtney's return to Los Angeles was numbing. She had already contacted Adam via Instant Messaging. She had made sure to avoid the topic of Charlie while talking with him. She had spent the majority of the day listening to her CD's and talking with Adam.

Nonetheless, she did have the time to go out with Charlie and Jo to play a game of street hockey. They met up with Jesse's brother, Terry, and Asa. Because Terry was younger than them, and Asa older, Asa was forced to help Terry against Charlie, Jo, and Courtney. Courtney hoped Jo wouldn't use her enforcing skills against someone as young as Terry, but she didn't. Jo even purposely let him score on her. Courtney was starting to see her in a different light. She wasn't as cruel or mean as everyone thought. After all, she had come all the way up to Minnesota to convince her mom to let her stay in California. Deeper and deeper she fell in to her thoughts until she felt the puck make contact with her helmet. She gazed up and saw all four of them laughing at her.

"I had to do it. You just looked so spaced out. Plus, I thought maybe it would knock some common sense into you," Asa commented with a grin. It was amazing how much he looked like Adam. He had the same hair type and color. Not to mention, he had Adam's intense blue eyes. Once again, she let herself drift off in thoughts.

Finally, she replied, "What are you talking about?"

"You're going out with Adam! There must be something wrong up there," he laughed, pointing to her head.

Courtney smirked and got back in to the game. Far too early, the sunset quickly rolled around and they were forced to retreat home.

"See ya!" Courtney yelled to Asa and Terry. They both waved back and sped home.

Courtney's mom was already cooking dinner and the smell of Lasagna wavered through the house. Jo was the first to claim the shower, as she sprinted up the stairs before Courtney and Charlie was even through the doorway. That left them lying underneath the ceiling fan on high hoping for air. Courtney was lucky enough to get the bathroom second. She felt refreshed and happier when she walked out of the bathroom. After almost two hours of showers, the mirrors and windows were well steamed up, along with the temperature.

The three of them could barely stay awake during dinner and collapsed on to their beds. It wasn't until Courtney had woken up at three am did she remember that Asa had given her a letter from Adam. Trying not to wake Charlie, she rummaged through her belongings and came across it. There on the paper, was Adam's messy handwriting along with a few pictures. Courtney resulted to reading the letter privately in the mow-extremely-hot bathroom

_Courtney,_

_Wow, things are different here without you. I really_

_miss you. I sent you a few pictures. I hope you like them._

_I think you will. There are a lot more, but you'll have to_

_come here to see them!_

_Luis is sill hurt and I still can't play. Something_

_about there's too much risk right now. Bryan said I maybe _

_in a week or two I can play._

_How are things with your mom? Are you coming _

_back? Do you know when? Things are depressing here_

_without you. I read the note that was under your_

_pillow. So, you think I'm smart? Tell my brother that _

_and he'll laugh you clear out Alaska! And to answer _

_some of your questions: that night I was awake and I _

_was thinking about you. I was wondering the same thing _

_about you. I didn't know if you had been to the trainers _

_to see me or not. I was just hoping that you cared. _

_Anyway, it was really sweet. It made me feel much more _

_confident, I felt special after that._

_I'm sorry, but I've got to go. I hope I see you _

_soon._

_Love,_

_Adam_

Courtney thought for a moment. Adam knew about her mother now. Instead, she focused on Adam reading her diary entry. She hadn't intended for him to read, it, but it was okay. Carefully, she pulled out the pictures from the envelope. The first was of her and Adam on the plane. Courtney was asleep; her head rested on Adam's shoulder, who was also asleep. They were both wearing headphones and smiles. She turned the picture over, where Adam had written: _Russ took this one. He said he couldn't resist, we looked too funny._ After taking a moment to study it, she moved on to the next photo. This one was taken at the Italian Restaurant. Courtney, Adam, Jo and Dwayne were all smiling widely at the camera. Adam had also written on the back: _Averman took this shot right after you answered the big question: Who answered the Lasagna? _Courtney laughed, remembering. The third photo was of the team at the beach. The Iceland players could be seen in the background, approaching. On the back, was written: _Not exactly a happy moment, but it was a cool looking scene because of the ocean in the background. _The fourth and final photo was of Adam and Courtney during the Chicken Match. Jo and Portman were also in the background, laughing. Courtney was on top of Adam's shoulders, her arms thrown up in victory. On the back was written: _Too bad we tied with Portman and Jo, but at least we look like we won!_

Courtney was unaware of the tears that were falling. They were memories she loved and she wanted more. She jumped as she heard Jo clear her throat behind her. Courtney had been sitting on the floor, without notice that the door had been opened. She thought maybe she had woken Jo up, but remembered that her flight left in a little over three hours. She actually didn't want to see Jo leave. She enjoyed having someone else in the house besides her mom and dad.

"Still up?" Jo asked curiously.

"Just reading a letter from Adam and looking at a few pictures."

"Can I see?"

"Sure," Courtney replied nonchalantly. She handed then to Jo as she flopped down onto the floor. Jo immediately flipped to the Chicken Match picture.

"Look, there's me and Dean," she pointed out, smiling. Courtney nodded. "I like this picture of you and Adam," Jo said, holding out the picture of them on the plane.

"Me too," Courtney agreed. Quietly, she asked, "Hey, do you think Adam's still up?"

Jo looked at her crazily. "You're not gonna call him _now_, are you?"

"Not necessarily _call_ him, but I dunno….maybe instant message him or something. He could still be up. Sometimes at night, when he can't go to sleep he just roams around on the Internet," Courtney stated

"Why don't _you_ try getting some sleep? You need it. You were tired earlier today and yesterday. Why are you wearing yourself out like this? You've got bags under your eyes and you've been under a lot of pressure and stress lately," Jo replied smoothly.

Courtney definitely was tired, but she wanted to talk to Adam more than she wanted to sleep.

"You might want to pack your suitcase too," Jo replied quickly, avoiding Courtney's eyes.

"Why?" Courtney asked, curiously.

"Because you're going back to California with us whether your mom says yes or no."

"I'm not gonna sneak on a plane to Los Angeles!" Courtney cried defensively.

"You wouldn't _be_ sneaking on a plane to Los Angeles. We're going to Sacramento. The Los Angeles flight was booked," Jo smirked.

"You missed the point, Jo. I'm not sneaking on any plane! I don't care where it's going."

"Well, we already got you a ticket, so you're coming," Jo replied angrily, her voice rising.

"Then you'll just have to cash it in because I am not getting on that plane. Maybe you should think about something like this before you do it."

"You wanted to be in Los Angeles so badly, that I thought you would take any opportunity to leave Minnesota."

"Yeah, I want to leave, but I don't want to disappoint my parents like this," Courtney replied quietly.

"Then I guess you don't want to be with Adam and the team as much as you thought. You know, I could always tell him about you and Charlie," Jo threatened.


	28. Chapter 28

"Then I guess you don't want to be with Adam and the team as much as you thought. You know, I could always tell him about you and Charlie," Jo threatened. Courtney's eyes grew wide. _How does she know about that?_ Courtney wondered. _Just stay calm,_ she told herself.

"What're you talking about?" Courtney demanded innocently. She looked back down at the pictures of her and Adam.

"I saw you two. You think I didn't, but you're wrong. I was in your bathroom when you locked your door. I had snuck upstairs when you were talking with your mom. Then I heard the doorbell ring and it was Adam's mom and brother. I listened to what she said and hurried back into you room when you and Charlie came up here. Didn't you notice the bathroom door was open a sliver? I saw you _kiss_ him," she explained, disgusted.

"You don't even know what that was about! Weren't you listening to what I said afterwards?"

"I didn't wait to hear what you said or see what you'd done. I climbed out of your window and got back into the car. I drove around the block for a few minutes wondering if I should tell you I saw it. I decided I should and came back. But when I started to question you, your mother was outside too and I couldn't." Courtney was shaking her head so hard, she was giving herself a headache.

"That's not the way it was! You've got to listen to me. I found out Charlie liked me and I didn't know what to do about it. So-"

"You decided to make out with him when you have a boyfriends?" Jo said coldly. Her eyes were narrowed on Courtney. She didn't feel comfortable. Courtney felt that at any moment, Jo might attack her again.

"No. I tested him. I kissed him to see if he would kiss me back. When he did, I knew he liked me. After you left, I told Charlie that he was a great guy, but just a friend. I had to explain to him that I had Adam and I was happy with him."

"How can I believe that you're telling me the truth?"

"You can just ask Charlie when he gets up! Ya know Jo, it hurts that you won't believe me. You know me; you know I wouldn't do something like that. And you also know that I wouldn't sneak onto a plane."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It was stupid of me to believe that _you_ would actually sneak onto that plane. I guess I just wanted to do at least one thing here that was wrong. Ya know, I haven't done one thing wrong here?" Jo said unbelievably.

"_Whoa_," Courtney whispered.

"Yep. That means I gotta do something big when I get back!" Jo laughed.

"But what are you going to do about the extra plane ticket?" Courtney asked, cautiously.

"I was just foolin with ya. We only have two tickets," Jo responded, smiling.

"Ya know, I am really tired. I think I'll get to sleep. I'll be up in an hour anyway when my mom and dad take y'all to the airport," Courtney commented.

"You sounded like Dwayne there for a minute," Jo laughed. "That was weird. You said 'y'all'!"

"Okay…" Courtney said, her voice trailing off.

"It was just weird…in a funny way."

"You're not as bad as everyone says you are. You're a good person, once you get on your good side," Courtney joked.

"I'm not as bad as everyone thinks. I'm just misunderstood. People judge me before they get to know me."

"I know I did. I guess Adam was right about Portman too. The night that Adam had to show Portman around and all, he came back saying he wasn't so bad. I didn't believe him, but now I do," Courtney mentioned.

"Dean's a lot like me. He's not as bad as the team makes him out to be," Jo mumbled.

"Yeah. We have a lot of stupid people on the team: just look at Averman."

"I know. He's the reason why we got chased at the beach, because he couldn't keep his big mouth shut!"

Courtney's watch beeped on he half-hour. She yawned loudly. "I'm getting back to sleep. I'll see you in the morning.

"It's already the morning," Courtney heard Jo reply sarcastically as she walked out of the door.

"Whatever, I'm tired. If you stay up, just don't blow anything up."

"Aw man, I had my sights set on your neighbors house too!" Jo said jokingly. Courtney smiled and returned to her room.

Courtney had been right about getting up an hour later. Her father vigilantly shook her awake.

"Hmm?" She mumbled.

"Your mother and I have something to tell you," he whispered. At once, Courtney was up and ready. She bounded down the stairs and sat eagerly across from her parents.

"We thought it better to you this before Jo and Charlie leave. You know I haven't been fond of you hockey. But the reasons I've told you are not all true," Courtney's mother rambled on. Mr. Robertson pushed her on. "Courtney, the real reason I don't want you out there is…is because…Daniel, why don't you tell her?"

"I don't care! I just want to know! Someone tell me," Courtney demanded, frustrated.

"Honey, you're not an only child," her father stated.

"You're having a baby?" Courtney cried excitedly.

"No! No, what I mean is…you have a brother. A twin brother to be exact. His name is Dwayne. Dwayne Robertson." Courtney's jaw dropped. Dwayne is my brother? No! No! No!

"NO!" She screamed. Her parents nodded. "No he's not! I don't think this is funny! Why do you make up these ridiculous excuses? You know what? I have half a mind to take Jo up on her offer to sneak onto that plane-oops," Courtney mumbled.

"You were going to do what?" Her mother shrieked.

"Honey, that's not the point here. Let's move onto the real subject," Mr. Robertson said uneasily.

"You knew!" Mrs. Robertson screamed. "You knew about this!"

"Well, yes. I knew Jo's father, so obviously I knew Jo. Her father and I were very good friends when we were-"

"I don't care! You knew! You knew about this! How could you?" Mrs. Robertson shrieked again. "How do you know that girl's father?"

"It was before her father was involved in any type of alcoholic drinks and stealing and all of that! Plus, I thought Courtney should have the chance to be doing something she really wants too! You can't keep her cooped up in this house forever!"

"I knew it! I knew Jo wouldn't do this alone! I was right!" Courtney yelled, doing circles in the living room.

"STOP IT! STOP IT RIGHT NOW! I'M, GOING TO FINISH THIS CONVERSATION OR YOU'RE NOT TAKING A STEP OUT OF THIS HOUSE FOR THE NEXT FIFTY YEARS!" Mrs. Robertson screamed at the top of her lungs. She sat down, took a deep breath, and pushed her hair back. Courtney immediately sat down too.

"Anyway, Courtney, we aren't lying. Dwayne really is your brother," her father established.

"We don't even look alike!" Courtney exclaimed, trying to keep her composure.

"You're not identical twins. Your father and I didn't think we would be able to handle two kids, so we put Dwayne up for adoption. His parents are originally from Texas, but wanted to stay in Minnesota. At first, we saw no problem with it, but a few years later you were on the same team. We talked with his parents about how we weren't comfortable with that, so they moved. They moved back just last year. And now, here you are again on the same team," Mrs. Robertson explained.

"He really is, isn't he?" Courtney said questionably. Courtney looked to the door and saw Charlie and Jo staring at them.

"Are we leaving soon?" Jo asked, annoyed.

"Of course," Mrs. Robertson said. Courtney was exasperated that her mother was just so angry, yet now so nice.

"Is Courtney coming or not?" Charlie asked quietly. He had been unusually quiet for the past two days and Courtney knew why. She hugged him before leaving the house, hoping to make him feel better.

"Courtney's not coming today, but she'll be with you later on today. We want a few more hours with her before we kick her out of the house. We can't do it so suddenly or the neighbors will be suspicious." Mr. Robertson laughed.

They climbed into the car and started for the airport. It was mainly quiet until Courtney's mother brought up the topic of Dwayne.

"Mom!" Courtney said embarrassed.

"What?" She asked.

"I don't wanna talk about Dwayne. I don't want them to know."

"Know what?" Charlie asked nosily.

"Nothing," Courtney muttered.

"Just tell him. He probably already knows anyway. He knows everything else." Jo said angrily.

"Why are you in such a bad mood all of the sudden?" Mrs. Robertson asked.

"I just don't' like talking about family."

"Why not?"

"It's very complicated, okay? Just leave me alone. And Charlie, if you wanna know so badly, they're talking about Dwayne being Courtney's brother."

"Jo!" Courtney shot back, "Just because you don't like your family doesn't mean you can tell everyone about mine!"

"Hey, you don't know anything about my family, Courtney! You wouldn't! You have a real dad that cares about you and you have a mom that is still alive! Oh, and you even have a brother that isn't constantly on the run from the police! Try having that as a family! Try having someone adopt you and then them forget about it!"

Everyone was staring at Jo, their mouths open. Courtney was looking at her sympathetically.

"Who's the person who adopted you and forgot?" Mr. Robertson asked, gently.

"No one."

"Who was it, Jo?" Charlie asked, bravely. When she didn't answer, he asked again.

"Your stupid coach! That's who! Your Mr. Perfect, can do no wrong coach!"

"What?" Courtney asked.

"Yes, you're coach! The person you stick up for, Charlie! The guy who has no clue about the girl that he adopted two years ago and obviously doesn't care!"

"Well, why don't y-you just t-tell him?" Charlie stuttered. "It wouldn't h-hurt anything."

"Charlie, you better keep your mouth shut! If you tell anyone about this, then I'll…I'll make sure you won't be able to talk ever again! That goes for you too Courtney!" She yelled, facing Courtney. "I know how you guys are…you're like little gossip mice! You spread everything you hear. You may have gotten to Ms. MacKay about Dean and I, but this won't get out to anyone or I swear there'll be dire consequences!" Jo screamed.

Charlie and Courtney nodded their heads, agreeing. Courtney had seen Jo mad before, but never this mad. She understood why Jo acted the way she did now. Her family was what had caused all of the problems. Somewhere along the line, Jo had created a shield, letting nothing in. Nothing close to her, except Portman. She sat in silence as Jo and Charlie climbed out of the car. They waited until they were in the building and then drove off.

"Courtney, I don't really want you to be in correspondence with her," Mrs. Robertson explained.

"Mom, you can't tell me who to hang out with. She just has her bad moods, like everyone else. I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

"Courtney, everyone has to talk about their problems. You can't keep all your feelings inside or you'll end up heartless," Courtney's father stated.

"That's what I talk to Adam for!" She screamed. "Maybe if I could've stayed in California, I could be talking to him right now!

"You got your way, didn't you? Don't push it," Mr. Robertson warned, staring at her through the rear-view mirror. Courtney crossed her arms and stared out the window. She watched the trees swishing by as they traveled home. Soon enough, the car was pulling into the driveway.


	29. Chapter 29

Jo and Charlie exited the Robertson's car and entered the airport. Mr. and Mrs. Robertson said bye while Courtney sat in the car silently. Jo and Charlie waited in a line so they could give the management their luggage.

Once their luggage was taken they went to their gate and waited for the plane. Regretfully it was an hour late. Once the plane finally arrived Charlie and Jo had to for their row to be called so they could finally board the plane.

Charlie, trying to get Jo back on her good side let her have the window seat. He wanted to talk to Jo more about her family and Bombay. Jo sat down in the window seat and stared out the window at the busying workers. Charlie stared at Jo and noticed that she looked not angry but more of hurt and betrayed.

"Jo what's wrong?" Charlie asked softly.

"Don't take this the wrong way but are you the guy who is a personal know it all?" Jo asked.

"What do you mean by that? Are you referring to the fact that I know a lot of stuff about other people?" Charlie asked.

Jo nodded her head. "It's a gift but it can also get you into a lot of trouble." She muttered the last to her self, "Maybe we aren't so different after all."

Charlie was stunned. He and Jo have something in common? He mentally shook his head and let the subject drop.

The plane ride seemed to take forever even though they were only going to be on the plane for two hours before they transferred to another plane.

Jo sat in silence while she waited for their next plane to come. Charlie had gotten hungry and had gone to satisfy his hunger. _'Charlie is going to keep bugging me about Bombay. But how can I explain why he adopted me without spilling everything about me and my past. My past isn't something I'm exactly proud of and what if Evan finds out. If I do tell him I risk letting everybody knowing about me then they'll all have a bunch of pity on me and I don't need their sympathy.'_ Jo thought toughly.

Jo sighed and took her sketchpad from her backpack. For some bizarre reason drawing always seemed to calm her restless mind. She took a few pictures she had borrowed from Mr. Robertson out of her bag aswell.

Late one night she and Mr. Robertson were talking about her parents, well more she was asking questions about them and he answered. And as a visual aid to go with his explanations he had gone and gotten an old photo album of him, his friends and Jo's mother.

Jo picked out the photo of her parents wedding and started to transfer the image onto the paper.

Charlie cam up a few minutes later and Jo quickly shut the book.

"What was that?" Charlie asked pryingly.

"Nothing Charlie. Just something I was working on," Jo lied quickly.

"Please can I look at it?" Charlie asked with a puppy dog pout to back it up.

Jo sighed and handed the notebook over to Charlie. He flipped through the book. His eyes growing wider the further he plunged.

"What?" Jo asked slightly annoyed. "You think they look like crap?"

"If these are you definition of crap I can't wait to see what they look like when they are your definition of great," Charlie complimented. "They are really good Jo. Where did you learn to draw like that?"

"No where. Just around I guess," Jo replied. Charlie nodded and handed the sketchbook back to Jo.

Forty-five minutes later they boarded onto yet another plane. This one was not as crowded but the people inside were more lavishly and businesses like dressed. Jo and Charlie felt out of place among all the businessmen and woman.

Considering Charlie's feelings Jo put a hat over her head as to not embarrass him. They both found their seats and sat down. Many people sent glances their way. No doubt wondering what two teens were doing on a plane filled with business representatives.

Jo felt out of place among the other passengers. They were either typing on their laptops or reading the stock market section of the newspaper. She wondered if her life with Bombay was going to be like this. Him leaving and going around the country on business half the time and her stuck at the house all alone. It didn't bother her as much as she thought it would if things turned out that way. She only had to live with him for three years and then she would be off to collage and out of his way. And if he didn't like her he could always ship her off to a private school. Jo turned to Charlie. He looked so small compared to everyone else on the plane. But she couldn't blame him, he was probably the youngest person on the whole flight.

"Hey Charlie, I'm gonna crash for a few hours so wake me if you need me," Jo said kindly. Charlie said he would and Jo went to sleep.

Charlie was bored stiff. There was nothing to do and he had already listened to all his CD's that he had brought with him. Then he noticed Jo's sketchbook and noticed some writing on a piece of paper inside it. He reached down and grabbed the book and took out the pieces of parer.

It was a poem Charlie realized. And one of the sadder ones he had ever read. He quietly read it to himself.

Charlie burst into tears. How could Jo think up of something so sad and depressing? But on a happy note he knew Jo saw him and the others as her friends. Jo started to stir and there was no time to put the book back.

"Charlie what are you…" Jo stopped when she noticed Charlie had gotten a hold of her book. She sent him a glare that mad him appear to shrink. "Give it to me Charlie."

"I'm so sorry Jo. It had fallen out and I was putting the papers back in and I couldn't help but read it," Charlie lied.

"Charlie you may be nosey but you are a terrible liar," Jo replied.

"I'm sorry. Is you life really like your poem?"

"I can't tell you. Well can you promise to keep this just between us?"

"Yes, I promise."

"All right. My life is sort of like the poem. But the one you read only explains what effect my fathers lesson have on me now," Jo explained. She handed him another piece of paper. " This one is more like my life story and says a bit about my family."

Charlie took the paper and read it aloud.

Charlie was once again in tears. Jo handed him a tissue to dry his eyes.

"How can you write this stuff? It's so depressing and sad. If I didn't know you then I would have thought you were depressed," Charlie said.

"Well you know me so you know I'm not depressed. But the piece you just read the title is 'What I Have Lost' and the one you saw earlier is called 'Scars'. But my life was sad and depressing so my life stories are sad and depressing," Jo explained.

"I hope you don't mind me asking this but how is the Coach you dad? You said he adopted you but why were you put up for adoption?" Charlie asked.

"What I'm about to tell you you must no tell any one else. I will tell them when I think the time is right," Jo said. Charlie nodded and Jo began, "It all really started when my mom died. My dad got all depressed and started to drink more than usual. Well as you can guess that and the effects it had on him effected my brothers and me. So my oldest brother left the house when he was fourteen and went off to live somewhere down south with a friend. That left only my dad, my other brother and me. We lived in a trailer park and well that's not exactly the safest or the best place to raise a child. The Child Welfare representatives came to our house and I was sent away with them and put into foster care until they could find someone to adopt me. Now when I'm fully capable of taking care of myself someone adopts me," Jo said sarcastically.

"Yeah But doesn't it still feel good to know someone out there wants you?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah. Courtney was right about you," Jo said. Charlie looked at her questionably. "You do have a different mind than most people."

Charlie laughed but the person in front of them told him to shut his mouth because he was trying to sleep.

"Want to play poker?" Jo asked. "I brought some cards with me."

"Yeah. But one question, how do you play poker?" Charlie asked. Jo snorted and smiled at him.

Jo taught Charlie the basics of poker before they began. After a practice game he was ready to play for real. Both of them agreed to bet on laps around the rink. After a few rounds it was clear that Jo was getting the best of Charlie. The final laps ended up being Jo:10 and Charlie:20. After playing poker they begna a game of War. After about an hour of war the plane began it's decent. Jo and Charlie made sure that they had all of their things gathered before the plane fully landed.

Once fully landed the plane allowed the passengers to disembark. Jo and Charlie not wanting any attention got off close to last. They entered the lounge of Gate 24, looking for anyone they knew. Charlie had cought sight of Coach Bombay and Dean almost right away.

The house felt strangely empty without Jo or Charlie there. The silence was almost scary. Quietly, she started to repack her suitcase. She made sure to carefully pack the picture that she had received from Adam's mother and the letter that he had written.

Lugging her suitcase down the stairs, she sat with her mother and father watching television. Eventually, the TV was turned off and they got into the car. Courtney had one last meal with her mom and dad before catching the plane.

"Be careful, honey!" Mrs. Robertson shouted from the gate. "Call us when you get there!"

"Courtney!" Her dad called. "Talk to Dwayne! Tell him! I don't think he knows! I love you!"


	30. Chapter 30

While Courtney was being seated on her plane, Coach Bombay was sitting on his couch on the phone.

"Look, I can't be there today. My team's got a game," he was saying.

"I know, but Gordon this is big! We've got reporters and TV stations," Tibbles keep talking while Bombay tried to explain that a coach doesn't leave his team for an interview.

"I've got to go!" Coach Bombay demanded and slammed down the receiver. He rushed to the door, but not soon enough. The phone started to ring again. "That's it! I'm gonna take-"he paused, "that-that-_thing_-off the hook!" He ran to the phone, jumping over the coffee table, almost breaking it. The answering machine picked up before he could reach it. Coach Bombay reached down, picked up the coffee table and threw it at the door. It shattered into pieces. "Uh-oh…that wasn't mine…that's gotta be at least…$375! Crap!"

"Gordon, I just wanted to call. It's about 7:00. Call me at the shop when the game is over. I'll be watching on TV," Jan's voice came through the speaker.

Coach Bombay dived for the phone and almost tipped over the couch. He swore quietly and this time reached the phone in time. "Jan?!" He panted, "Jan, are you there?"

"Relax, Gordon, I'm here. Shouldn't you be with your team at the rink by now?"

"What? Oh my gosh! I'm late!" The Coach shouted. He quickly crashed the phone down. He ran out the door, but stopped for a moment to say hi to Averman.

"Hello," he greeted him and continued to run to his car. He had the ignition running, but slowly turned it off and spun his head around. "Did I just see Averman standing in front of my house?" He asked himself. "He wouldn't be dumb enough to…yes he would." The Coach opened the back door and Averman climbed in. "I don't even wanna know. Just shut up and let's go."

The rest of them team, back in Los Angeles was anxiously awaiting the beginning of their next game: Germany vs. USA. Their coach was nowhere to be found, nor was Averman. Not that the team cared much whether or not Averman was there. They were spared his annoying questions and jokes. However, it would've been nice to have someone to ease the tension. They had just come off of a very bad loss and their confidence was low. The ref came over to their bench.

"Team USA, without a coach, you have to forfeit," he stated.

"But you can't do that," Adam protested from the bench.

"What do you care, you ain't even playin," Portman spat at him.

"Just trying to help out," Adam murmured, turning away.

"Wait!" Charlie shouted. "Wait! We have a coach!" He quickly skated towards Ms. MacKay, who was walking down the isle. "You have to be our coach!"

"What?" She asked, frightened. "What do you mean?

"Coach Bombay isn't here! If we don't have a coach we can't play! We'll be out of the tournament. Adam'll help you. C'mon! Please," he begged.

"Well…" she mumbled, " I suppose I could try."

"YES!" The team bellowed.

"C'mon ref! Let's get the game going! What're you waiting for: the ice to melt?! Let's play!" She shouted as loud as possible. The referee blew his whistle and the two teams took their places on the ice.

The puck was dropped and Germany started out strong. This time, Team USA was going to keep their main enforcer on the ice. Portman and Jo did their duty of keeping USA's forwards untouched, allowing goals. By the end of the first quarter the score was tied at 1-1.

Coach Bombay and Averman rushed through the traffic, hoping to be at the game on time. Averman continuously looking down at his watch wasn't helping Coach Bombay keep his cool. He gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. "Just stay calm," he told himself.

Eventually, they reached the rink half-an-hour later. Averman hurriedly put on his gear and ran to the bench. Heads turned as they entered the arena. "Oh," the team groaned at the sight of Averman. Coach Bombay signaled for the ref to continue the game. He turned to .

"Thanks," he said sweetly, kissing her lightly on the cheek,

"Hey! What about my mom?" Charlie demanded. "First you're kissing on my mom, now her?" The Coach stared at him incredulity.

"Charlie, shut up and get on the ice," he said. Charlie did as he was told.

After Goldberg had been scored on for the second time, it was tied at 2-2. Coach Bombay called in his players.

"Okay, guys it's time for something new."

"Yeah, like an explanation of where you were!" Fulton yelled.

"Guys, I wanted to be here. I can't explain it now. Right now we need to focus on the game. Jesse, I want you to play out the Flying V. Alright, get out there!" he shouted. He watched his players join behind the night. "C'mon Jesse," he urged.

Jesse took a deep breath and started the attack. The coach looked up at the clock. Only thirty seconds left in the game. It was enough time, he knew it. Jesse took the puck up the ice slowly. He passed it back to Ken, who gently glided it over to Dwayne. Dwayne kept the puck for a moment, and then passed it back to Russ, who sent it back up to Jesse when they reached the goal. He faked and passed it back to Ken, who shot and scored. The score was 3-2. They only had to get control of the puck for a few more seconds and they'd win the game. Jo won the face off and played around with the puck while the clock ran down. As the buzzer sounded, the team cheered and shouted. They threw off their helmets and gloves onto the ice and met on the ice. The team was restored with confidence.

That night, the coach happily moved his things into the dorms that his team had been staying in. Finally, he'd be with his team and see how they had been living for the past few weeks.


	31. Chapter 31

Back in Minneapolis, Courtney found that the plane ride was much more enjoyable the third time around. Maybe it was just the fact that Courtney was going back that made it so much better. She didn't care who was sitting next to her this time. She was just happy to be on the plane. In a matter of minutes, she would be able to hug Adam and feel his body against hers again. She couldn't wait to see his blue eyes again. The moment she stepped into the main portion of the airport, she was attacked by Connie and Adam. Grinning from ear to ear, she embraced them tightly.

"I've missed you so much! It's _so_ boring without you to talk to! Try talking to Dwayne at night. He doesn't understand anything!" Connie exclaimed.

"We'll catch up tonight. Don't worry. Hey, do you think you could grab my bags for me?" Courtney suggested. She was stalling for time alone with Adam. Connie took off down the airport.

Smiling weakly, she swung her arms around him and locked their mouths together. Courtney sighed, feeling the familiar warmth and passion of Adam's kiss. The feel of his soft, golden hair through her fingers brought her to another world.

"We missed you more than you can imagine," Courtney whispered in his ear.

"Take that and multiply it by 1000. That's how much I've missed you," Adam replied smoothly. Courtney smiled and kissed him again. The heat of his body warmed her. She wanted to stay, cuddled in his arms forever. Never had she felt this way with any other boy. He rubbed her back soothingly and gently swung her body back and forth.

"You can do that back at the dorms. Let's go," Connie demanded, carrying Courtney's bags.

A powerful surge of energy sifted through Courtney. It felt great to be back in Los Angeles. It seemed more like a home to her than her own. She cupped her hand in Adam's and rested her head upon his shoulder. Quietly, she stared out the window at the darkness that had settled over. Not long after, the cab came to a halt in front of the dorms. Adam unloaded Courtney bags as she and Connie talked outside.

"Guy's been really great. He's so sweet!" Connie cried, ecstatic. Courtney wasn't exactly listening to Connie as she spoke. Instead, she was looking at the stars that were reflecting down on Adam's head. He was unpacking the trunk of the cab.

"How come Guy is never in our room talking with you?" She asked, when she noticed Connie was waiting for a response.

"We talk in his room. Dwayne's so nosy. He always wants to know what we're talking about," Connie answered.

_Dwayne_, Courtney remembered, _My brother, Dwayne. I wonder where he is?_

"You think Dwayne's annoying? Try having Charlie living in your room for just three days! He'll drive you crazy. It was actually kind of nice having him there, though."

"He can't be as bad as Dwayne," Connie debated.

"Speaking of Dwayne, uh-where is he?" Courtney asked, trying to sound inconspicuous.

"Probably Ken's room. Anyway, this has been nice. It's not like I can tell anyone else the cute things Guy says and does. And who better to tell than one of his previous girlfriends?"

"Yeah," Courtney chimed in, watching Adam below. He was shutting the trunk and walking inside. Courtney took the opportunity to end the conversation with Connie, "I hate to end this little chat, but I've really got to talk to Dwayne and Adam. We can talk again later. We have all night."

"No, we don't. The coach is taking us out somewhere. Didn't anyone tell you? Since we won the game against Germany, we're celebrating," Connie explained.

"You won? That's great! Who played for Luis?" Courtney asked, curiously.

"Jo played. Of course, Adam didn't, so it was a little harder than usual."

"Jo played? But when I talked to her about playing, she totally shoved it off," Courtney replied annoyed.

"Yeah, but Portman talked to her, so she played."

Courtney remembered telling her mother that Jo was sort of a teammate. _I guess she _is_ one now,_ Courtney thought. "So where is Coach Bombay taking everyone?"

"Not sure. We were just told to wear regular clothes. But we are leaving in about two hours, Connie informed her.

"Good, good. That's just enough time to talk to Dwayne," Courtney mumbled to herself.

Connie was eyeing her quizzically. "Why are you so adamant to talk with him? Did something happen while you were at home? Oh my gosh!" Connie screamed, "Did you and Adam break up and now you and Dwayne are going out?"

Courtney cringed at the thought of dating her own brother. "Eww!" she screamed, "No! Didn't you just see me making out with Adam?" _How stupid can she be?_ Courtney wondered.

Connie shrugged, "I saw, but you could've broken up with him somewhere between here and there. It's possible."

"No, Adam and I are great. I just found out some stuff that Dwayne might find interesting, that's all. I'll talk to you later," Courtney lifted herself from the chair and quickly slammed the door shut before Connie could say another word. As she turned away, she hesitated and faced it again. Instantly, she re-opened the door and slammed it shut. Courtney smiled at the sound of the door_. I've missed this place so much,_ she thought.

"Uh, Courtney. Do you have something goin' on with the door or can we…talk?" Courtney spun back around, embarrassed.

"Oh, hey. Charlie. We can talk, I guess," she stated, unhappily. She frowned slightly and sat down.

Charlie quickly sat down on Courtney's already-made bed. "I don't mean to be a know-it-all," he sighed uncomfortably.

"What are you talking about?" Courtney asked, sympathetically. She fidgeted on her bed. She'd never seen it so neat before. It was strange to see her bed _actually made. _

"Do you think I have a need to know everything?" Charlie asked, pushing the conversation forward.

"Well…" Courtney stated, her voice fading. She didn't know how to answer his question. He _did_ seem to always know everything. She still wasn't positive how he managed to obtain all of his information. "You do come off as knowing everyone else's business, but I don't think makes you a know-it-all. Who said you were?" Courtney knew something like that wouldn't be triggered from his own thoughts.

"Jo," he responded thoughtfully. "When we were returning to California. Are you _sure_ I'm not a know-it-all?" he stressed, almost whining.

Courtney sighed deeply, laughing at the same time, "Yes, I'm sure. Listen, I like you just the way you are. Don't change because of something _Jo_ said to you."

He gave her a relieved smile, "Oh to answer your question, Dwayne is in my room. I heard you ask Connie," Charlie said.

"Know-it-all," Courtney joked as she left the room. The corridor was a deadly silent. There wasn't any excess noise from any of the rooms. Weird, Courtney thought. She hesitated; trying desperately to remember which room was Charlie's. Before she could knock on the door she thought was his, when Dwayne swung the door open, grabbed her by her wrists, and shoved her into the room next to them. _What's up tonight? _ Courtney thought angrily. _Don't tell me he's got something he wants to talk about too? _

"We gotta talk," he said softly, but hurriedly. "What was Adam talking about?"

"I don't know. It depends…what did he say?" she asked, slightly annoyed.

"Something about _our_ relatives? What's going on? What was he talking about, Courtney?" Dwayne demanded sternly.

"Why is it everyone blabs _my_ business? Now I know how Jo feels," Courtney mumbled under her breath. Dwayne stared at her apprehensively. "Oh, maybe you should sit down," she advised. Dwayne did as she asked.

"Do you remember when you moved to Texas? Part of the reason you moved is…well, because of me. You moved so that I wouldn't find out that we're actually twins." Courtney let the last statement sink in. Dwayne was quiet, a blank stare across his face.

"You're crazy," he finally retorted, shaking his head diligently. "That plane ride must have rattled your brain!" He was shaking his head harder, now.

"No, it didn't. I didn't believe them at first, either. But it's true. My parents couldn't handle two of us, so they put one of us up for adoption. I know it's hard to believe. Look at our eyes. They're the same. I noticed that on the bus awhile back, but nothing clicked. If you still don't believe me, why don't you ask to see your birth certificate?" Courtney whispered, hurt.

Dwayne looked into her eyes. They were the same. He knew she was telling the truth. She wouldn't lie about something so important.

"Why didn't they tell us?" He asked, curiously.

Courtney shrugged. She didn't quite understand how her parents thought things out. "Maybe they were going to tell us, but being on the same hockey team forced it out earlier."

They sat in silence for over twenty minutes. Dwayne twiddled his thumbs.

"Kind of a weird concept, huh? Us being brother and sister," Courtney said, her voice trailing off.

Dwayne gulped, "It's a little weird, but," he said as he jumped up, "I have a sister!" He scrambled her into his arms. "This'll be great!"

Dwayne was hugging her so tightly she could barely breath. She sucked in air the moment he let go. Courtney heard the door creak open and turned to see Adam staring, open-mouthed at them. Remembering what Connie though, Courtney was quick to say nothing was going on between her and Dwayne. The three of them sat, facing one another as Courtney explained the conversation between her parents.

Courtney came to find out that the dorm was so deserted because the team had gone to help Jo set up her band's equipment at a local club.

"They all think her cousin's cute," Dwayne explained. "I think we're the only ones who don't." Courtney was glad of that. She wasn't about to let her brother, much less her boyfriend, get into a relationship with any relative of Jo.

Courtney sat in silence as Adam and Dwayne talked amongst themselves. She was drained. Courtney found it hard to believe that it was still the same day that she and Jo had been sitting on her bathroom floor looking at pictures sent by Adam. It had felt like it had been forever since Adam had last held her in is arms. The feeling was comforting. She was getting drowsy hearing their soft murmuring voices. She snapped awake as Adam started to stand. She blinked her eyes until her vision was clear.

"We've gotta go. The coach is taking us out since we won," Dwayne clarified. Courtney sluggishly followed them to a bus waiting outside. The rest of the team had arrived back at the dorms and were already on the bus. No matter how tired she was, the team wasn't about to let her off easy. Courtney was barraged with questions as she climbed the steps. She smiled, enjoying every moment of it. _Enjoy it now_, she told herself, _'Cause in a day or two me being back will be old news. _

She was pumped with energy by the time they arrived at the restaurant. It wasn't fancy like the Italian Restaurant they had been to. The restaurant had a nice homely atmosphere. There was a rush to the tables. Even the coach seemed to be acting like a teenager. _He's back,_ Courtney thought, happily.

Before anyone could order, stampedes of admirers of all ages were sticking paper and pens in their faces. Courtney was flushed. She had never been asked for an autograph. She gladly signed anything from hats to shoes. One little boy even asked her to sign the back of his shirt to make it look like her jersey.

"What's your name?" she asked politely.

"Hunter," he responded shyly.

"Okay, Hunter. I'll do you one better," she expressed taking off the practice jersey she had been wearing, exposing her USA tank top she'd been wearing underneath. "You can have my jersey." The little boy stared, open-mouthed at her. "Just share it with your sister," she exclaimed, nodding to the girl that had come up with him. It was clear that they were twins. The boy still gaped at her. Finally, he grabbed his sister's hand and pulled her forward.

"This is Mandy. We're twins," he whispered excitedly. Courtney got closer to the boys so her team wouldn't hear and stated, barely audible, "I have a twin too. That's him," she said pointing to Dwayne, " Do you want his autograph too?"

"Thank you very much. I'll share, I promise 'cause my momma said you should always share."

"Let me sign that for you." Courtney singed right under her number. She handed the shirt to the boy. He read it aloud.

"T-to H-H-Hunter a-and Mandy," he stuttered, "D-D-"

"Dream." Courtney voices, helping him.

"Dream b-big and y-you will s-s-s…"

"Succeed," they said in unison. Hunter gave her a hug, and then shoved the jersey in Dwayne's face. He signed it and they watched Hunter run off joyfully to his parents.

"That was really nice, Courtney," Russ complimented. "Nice…but Coach is gon' kill you for givin' way your jersey." Courtney smirked at him and pointed to the people waiting for his autograph.

"Better get moving!" She screamed sarcastically. Russ had by far the longest line, filled with screaming girls. Luis was eyeing Russ jealously.

The excitement gradually died down and they were left to eat in peace.

"So Courtney, tell us, honestly, how bad was it for you without Adam for so long?" Averman laughed.

"Not as bad as it would be for you if you were separated from Goldberg!" She retorted. Everyone laughed, including Averman.

"Hey!" he shouted sulkily, as he finally understood the joke.

"She was miserable," Jo cut in. "All she did was mope." Courtney cut eyes at Jo across the table. The team stared at Courtney waiting for her response.

"Watch it or I'll tell-" She had been on the verge of spilling to the team all the information on Jo that she had told Courtney and Charlie in the car. Now the team looked at Jo again. _Are we just some type of entertainment to them now? _Courtney wondered. _Are our fights like Pay-Per-View or something?_

"No, _you_ watch it or I'll tell what happened in your room!" Jo warned. Jo's eyes were narrowed on her. Courtney knew she meant business. The team waited for the next movement. Jo turned to them, "What are you staring at you punks? Are you placing bets now? Huh?"

"You know what happened in my room wasn't real. But what you said in the car was," Courtney retaliated.

"They don't' know it's not real. And if you even think about saying anything, you won't be able to prove that what happened in your room wasn't true!" Jo raised her voice mischievously.

Adam and Jesse pulled Courtney from the table and into the arcade.

"Courtney, what's she talking about?" Jesse demanded, trying to catch her eyes. "I'm sick of whatever this feud between you two is. We had enough problems with friendships earlier. We don't' need any more."

"It's nothing, Jesse," Courtney mumbled, making eye contact with Adam. "I'm sorry. You won't have any more problems to deal with."

Ken's head popped around the corner, soon followed by Russ. "Dessert!" They both yelled. They wouldn't leave until the three of them left too. All five returned with forced smiles. Jo was already involved in a conversation with Portman and Fulton. Courtney sat back down, inhaling deeply. She and Jo had both been in dangerous waters.

The team finished the rest of their dinner peacefully. Courtney steered clear of any conversation that may be tied to Jo. The coach led them to the buses that were waiting outside. Courtney was dreading getting back on the bus. The weather outside was so warm. It was the perfect night.

"Uh, Coach. Jo's band is playing at a club down the street from here. We thought we'd go down there," Fulton asked. The coach looked at the team.

"Well…alright. You can go ahead. I'm gonna go back. If anybody wants to come with me, let's go." Courtney saw Averman start to head towards him, but she distinctly heard the word 'Girls' come from Luis' mouth and he stepped back into the crowd. "Okay. If no one's coming back, then I'll just send the bus back down-"

"You don't have to do that. We can walk back from the club. It's nice out here anyway," Jo insisted. The coach nodded and climbed onto the bus by himself. The team watched the bus ride away. Slowly, they made their way toward the club.

"I hope Jo knows where she's going," Adam whispered in Courtney's ear as he put his arm around her. Courtney nodded. She didn't want to get lost in the middle of Los Angeles. She shivered remembering the guy who had approached Fulton, Portman, and Jesse that one night on the streets. "Are you cold?" Adam asked, wrapping his arms tighter around her. She smiled and they hurried to catch up with the rest of their teammates.

It wasn't long after they had started walking did they arrive at the club. It was a medium sized building with attention-catching neon letters on the front. They all followed Jo into the building nervously. They eyed the security guard as they passed him. He grunted angrily at them.

The team took their seats in front of the stage. After just a few minutes of sitting down, Jo and some other girl made their way towards Adam and nodded for him to follow. Courtney grabbed his arm.

"Where are you going?" Courtney asked suspiciously. He said nothing, but kept walking. Adam walked to the stage and picked up the microphone. Courtney gave Charlie a puzzled look. He just shrugged.

"He's not going to…" Courtney's voice trailed off. "Oh my gosh he is," she said in disbelief.


	32. Chapter 32

Jo couldn't have been more nervous if she tried. She was confident in her abilities but the fact that Dean, his entire hockey team and the representatives for the record company were out there made her nervous. She knew that if they got the record deal that would mean the end of the old Chicago Cru, at least it would for her. She also knew that if Evan found out about this he would find her, hurt her and everyone close to her. And she didn't want to get everyone involved in that because she would have to tell them her past and history with Evan.

Jo gathered the band together for a few last encouraging words, "Okay guys we rocked Chicago now we're gonna rock L.A. right?" Jo shouted enthusiastically. She was wearing her usual black baggy cargo pants, a black sleeveless trench coat that hung down to her neighs and a silver halter-top. She wore the necklace Dean had given her for luck.

"Yeah! No worries!" agreed Kris. She was a tall girl with brown hair and violet eyes at the age of fourteen. She chose to wear a black cut off tube top with a strap that went around her neck and a tanned color cargo pants.

"Same here! Don't worry we wont embarrass you too much," joked Jordan. He was the tallest with black hair and green eyes. He was twenty years old. He was dressed in a dark green short-sleeved shirt and a pair of blue jeans.

"We wont let you down!" promised Bill. He was a tall, blue eyed and black haired sixteen year old. He was wearing a navy blue muscle shirt and black jeans.

"Thanks guys. Now lets go show 'em!" cried Jo. They went over to the lights manager and told him to turn off all the stage lights until they brought up the tempo. He said he would and turned off all the lights.

Jo and her gang went on stage, with no lights on them it made them all less nervous. She and everyone else went to their respective instruments and started playing 'Changes'. When the tempo picked up the lights manager turned on all the lights to the stage. Thankfully the Chicago Cru members had worn sunglasses with black lenses so they wouldn't be temporarily blinded. Neither Jo nor the others knew what song to play except for 'Changes'. Once they finished playing that song they had a little on stage meeting.

"Okay what song are we gonna do next?" asked Jo.

"What about that new one you wrote?" suggested Kris.

"Yeah! We rehearsed it and we know it," agreed Bill.

"Yeah, but I think the lyrics still need some work," stated Jo.

"No they don't! Trust us, the lyrics are fine. Plus we know you want to sing this for someone special who's here watching you," assured Kris. Kris knew Jo would know whom she was referring to.

"Yeah I do want to sing it for him," Jo replied shyly.

"Alright! 'I Feel You' it is. Bill you do the guitar solo. The rest of us just do what we rehearsed," Kris explained. Each of the band members went back to their respective instrument while Jo introduced them along with the next song.

"Okay since we didn't get a chance to introduce our selves earlier were gonna do that now. Jordan Armstrong is our drummer, his younger brother Bill Armstrong is our second guitarist and back up vocals, Kris Vandros is our base player and some backup and me, my name is Jo I play the guitar and do most of the vocals. That last song you heard was called 'Changes' and the one we're about to hear is called 'I Feel You'. And I'd like to take this time to dedicate this song to someone really special to me and I know he knows who he is." Jo finished addressing the crowd and gave a quick glance to Dean letting him know this song was for him. Jo gave Bill a small nod to tell him to start. He started playing and soon everyone was playing his or her instrument and singing. After that song ended they took a five-minute brake. Jo and Kris went over to were the hockey team was gathered.

"Adam. You comin or not?" asked Jo.

"Yeah I'm coming," replied Adam.

"Adam what are you going to do?" asked Courtney.

Adam didn't answer. Jo, Kris and Adam had just started walking away when Goldberg yelled at them.

"What the heck is that on your shoulders?!" asked Goldberg in amazement. The whole team looked at Jo, Adam and Kris. Adam looked at his shoulders. He obviously had no idea what Goldberg was referring to, unlike Jo and Kris who weren't surprised at his expression. "You guys got tattoos?"

"Yeah," Jo and Kris answered simply as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. With that little remark half of the team rushed over to them and started staring at their shoulders.

"Dude! Like get away from me!" yelled Kris after about five minutes of people closely staring at her shoulder. During all of the commotion Dean pulled Jo aside.

"Mind telling me?' asked Dean.

"Sure, just wait a bit. When we wrap it up we can talk okay?" asked Jo. Dean nodded his head. Jo rushed over to Kris and Adam and pulled them away from everyone. Jo shoved them onto the stage and explained why they were late. The Armstrong brothers nodded in understanding. Jo went up to the microphone and addressed the crowd. "Okay everyone. Um… were going to do things a little differently for this next song. First of all I won't be doing the lead vocals, Adam Banks will cover that and I'm backup. Second, I did not write this. Adam wrote it and Chicago Cru just did the music. And I guess that's it besides introduce the song. This one's called 'Here Without You'," explained Jo. She started walking towards her stool.

When Jo passed by Adam she noticed that he was slightly shaking. Jo put a strong comforting hand on his shoulder for encouragement. "Knock 'em dead." Jo encouraged. Adam nodded in response but she could tell he was still nervous _'Great he's nervous and nervous people make mistakes. Better give him some reassurance. Crap! That's the one thing I stink at too. The least I can do is try. He's doing this for Courtney and out of his heart,' _Jo thought. She took a deep breath and started, "Listen to me. Anyone who thinks I wasn't nervous this whole time is an imbecile. After years of doing this I'm still nervous so don't feel ashamed if you are, you're new so it not unusual to feel nervous." Jo said understandingly. Adam gave Jo a small nod before she went and sat on her stool. Adam sat on his stool and started singing.

In the end Adam probably shocked a lot of people with his hidden singing talent, especially Courtney. When he left the stage Jo noticed Courtney was just staring at him extremely impressed.

Jo was relieved when they had finished playing their last song 'Going down in Flames'. She was just about to die if she had to be up there any longer. There was just so much riding on her performance all she wanted was to go back stage and sink into a chair and she did but only briefly. She figured Dean was waiting for her and the talk she promised to have with him. She left the back stage through a door in one of the back corners. It took her about five minutes to find Dean through the crowd. When she finally found him he and Fulton were talking.

"Hey you said you wanted to talk to me when we finished," said Jo trying to make it sound as sisterly as possible.

"Yeah. C'mon," stated Dean as he led Jo away from the crowd. He led her over to a small dark corner where he was sure no one would here or see them. "Now start explaining the tattoo."

"I think your letting all of this 'I'm Jo's big brother' stuff go to your head," stated Jo.

"Yeah I guess your right but as your boyfriend do you mind telling me?" asked Dean.

"It's nothing major it's just something between me and Kris. We were two girls stuck with two guy's older than us and we promised each other that we would always be there for each other. Once we were older we got wolf tattoo's to symbolize that promise. I have a wolf that's howling with a full moon behind it and Kris has the same thing except with a sun. Alright?" asked Jo.

"Yeah it's just that it came up so sudden and with Goldie and everybody making a huge fuss over it didn't help it sink in too well. I guess my "big brother" instincts just kind of clicked in," explained Dean.

"Yeah I guess I should have told you. Sorry, but hey you know you can't stay mad at me," joked Jo. Dean just smiled and briefly kissed Jo not wanting to be seen by someone on the team.

The rest of the night went smoothly. Every single boy on the hockey team danced with both Jo and Courtney. Connie and Guy danced together for every song so no one had a chance to dance with either of them. Jo would have danced with Dean for all of the songs but she didn't want anyone to get suspicious. Jo was dancing with Luis when things got rocky. It was a slow song and Luis was using his charm on her.

"You know you're beautiful right?" Luis asked softly.

"Yeah. I get that a lot from guys," was Jo's response.

"You deserve someone special," Luis stated hinting towards himself. He moved Jo a little closer to him. "Someone who wont take advantage of you. Someone who cares about you."

"I have someone like that, in fact he's better than that," Jo stated. She was getting uncomfortable with Luis talking to her like this. Not to mention he was getting closer by the minute.

"What about me?" Luis asked softly with a bit of romance in his voice. "I like you and you are one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen and I have complete respect for you."

"Luis. Stop! Please," Jo begged sternly. She didn't like the way this was going. But then she remembered who her "brother" was. She was about to speak when Luis kissed her. Shocked and outraged she shoved him _hard _in the chest. As a result he stumbled a few feet backwards and fell. He quickly picked himself up and went back to Jo. Hoping for better luck this time.

"Sorry about that I don't know what came over me," Luis apologized.

Jo didn't care what his excuse was. She knew that it was a lie. It didn't make any difference to her. Giving forgiveness to people wasn't her strong point and Luis had just next to shattered any trust Jo had in him. "I think you should remember who my brother is Mendoza!" Jo spat at him.

"Oh yeah… He is your brother isn't he…? I think I'm… uh… I'm gonna go get… uh… something to drink." With that Luis quickly walked away from Jo.

That finished Jo's dance with Luis early. Which Jo couldn't have been more thankful. She went to the sidelines and noticed Goldberg sitting at a table all by himself. Jo went over and took a seat next to him.

"Common Goalie lets dance," cried Jo.

"What! With me?" asked Goldberg astoundingly.

"Yeah c'mon. Why not? It'll be fun," Jo assured him. Goldberg's face lit up as if someone had let him into a free all you can eat buffet. He and Jo went onto the dance floor and danced together for the next two songs. Jo hoped that raised his spirits a bit.

When one of the slow songs came on Jo and Dean got together and danced. Jo figured that them dancing to a slow song together wasn't something to get the teams suspicions raised. She didn't like living this lie. For plenty of reasons. One it kept her and Dean from showing any public affection unless it was in a very dark corner or behind a store in the alleyway. Second, she noticed that Luis looked over at her some of the time and Fulton did the same thing except more often. She could tell that they were interested in her. Luis was obvious with his little emotion out burst earlier. She also knew that the truth would crush them when she had to tell them the truth about her and Dean. She knew that it would take them some time to muster the guts to ask out "Portman's sister" and by the time they found enough they would have already discovered the truth.

While they were dancing Jo noticed Fulton looking at them. She also noticed the slight sadness in his eyes and understood that he had wanted to dance to this song with her. She felt sorry for him because she could tell he had feelings for her and that he didn't know that she wasn't single.

Once the song ended Jo went over to Fulton. "Hey you okay?" asked Jo.

"Yeah. Why?" asked Fulton.

"No reason. Hey want to dance? I've danced with just about everyone else on the team already and I figured I'd dance with someone else for a change," explained Jo. Fulton nodded happily and they went onto the dance floor. To make up for missing the slow song with him Jo danced with him for the next three songs.


	33. Chapter 33

Courtney couldn't believe it when Adam started singing. She was fully prepared to cover her ears, but when the music started, she didn't. Courtney was shocked. For the next four minutes, Courtney's eyes were nowhere but on Adam. Meteorites could have been falling through the ceiling and she still wouldn't have noticed a thing.

As Adam proceeded off the stage, Courtney gaped at him. Slowly he sat down beside her. He waited for a reaction, but Courtney was speechless. _Form words, Courtney!_ Her brain was screaming, _Talk to him!_

"Y-you did g-great, Adam," she stuttered. "It-it…you...that was amazing…wow, she finally managed to say. She was touched. No one had ever done anything like that for her. She looked up at Jo, who had already started the next set. Courtney caught her eye and threw her a gracious smile. Whether she would admit it or not, Courtney knew Jo had something to do with the event.

"Why don't you sit down?" Courtney asked, not thinking.

Adam looked around and back at her. "Uh, Courtney. I don't know if you've noticed, I guess not, but…I'm already sitting down." Courtney smiled apologetically. He smiled gratefully. They stared at each other for a moment, neither knowing just what to say.

"I know it's been a lot less than a hundred days since we last talked and all, but it feels that way," Adam whispered. Courtney wasn't really soaking in what he was saying; she was too busy concentrating on him. Every little feature. Her eyes stopped on a band-aid placed on the left side of his head. It almost blended in with his skin tone and his hair was covering part of it. She'd forgotten what had happened to him earlier.

"Adam, what happened to you that night?" Courtney gulped. It was a strange thing, someone just being left on a porch. She wanted to know what had happened and why. Obviously, there had been a confrontation. _No one gets that beat up for no reason,_ Courtney determined.

Adam's smiled had faded, now. It was clear that even _he_ was a little hazy on the event.

"I went to a sport's pub-bar type place and I was watching a re-broadcast of our game. I'm-uh-not really sure what happened after that. I…was talking to someone and then…I remember someone, I think it was J-no, it couldn't have been," Adam stopped abruptly. _Was he about to say Jo?_ Courtney pondered. Adam screwed up his face, thinking. He shook his head and looked back up. "Someone took me to Bryan. I'm not sure who. I can remember someone jumping in front of me. This guy kept hitting me and whoever it was stopped him. That's all I remember, though."

Courtney gazed around the club. Everyone was dancing, even Goldberg. He was doing the Salsa with an old woman with a blue Mohawk. She turned back to Adam.

"That's really disturbing," she whispered. Adam stared at the two dancing.

"Yeah, just a little bit. Since there aren't many…_normal_…couples dancing, let's be the minority?" He said, half asking. Courtney stick out her hand, joking and they entered the dance floor.

Courtney and Adam danced for the nest two sets and took a break. Courtney looked down at her watch. It was almost 1:30. She gulped down a glass of water and pulled Adam outside into the fresh air. It was still warm out, but with a slight breeze.

"Let's go down to the ocean," Courtney suggested. Adam nodded, taking her hands in his.

"But I've gotta tell you something," he alleged. Courtney's heart sank. Good news never followed those words. "When you go back to the dorms, I won't be going with you. I still have to stay with the trainer. But," he stressed at the sight of Courtney's expression, "we can fall asleep on the phone together." Courtney laughed slightly. "That good?" He whispered.

"Yeah," Courtney replied, giggling.

They made their way down to the beach, crossing deserted streets and empty homes. The gentle slapping of the waves was a comfort to Courtney. The sound was soothing to her ears. Childishly running down to the water, she tore of her shoes. She pulled an unwilling Adam knee-high into the cold water. Adam's eyes as well as the ocean reflected the beautiful glow of the moon.

_It figures_, Courtney thought, _I come back, but I still won't see him. It's not fair. What harm would sleeping in a dorm bring to him?_

They walked along the beach for what seemed like hours. Lights from hotels and clubs could be seen shutting off. Courtney's legs were beginning to feel weak from dancing and walking on the beach. They both agreed to sit down momentarily.

"I'm really glad you're back," Adam whispered in her ear.

"You have no idea how happy I am to be back here. It's great. I'm back with the team, I can play hockey again, and most importantly, I'm back with you again."

"I missed you so much. I was afraid if you had to stay there, you'd find someone else," Adam muttered nervously.

"Yeah," Courtney laughed guiltily. She knew she didn't like Charlie, but she still felt ancy about what had happened. She was actually surprised that no one had asked Jo what happened in her room. Glad, but surprised. "We should get back," Courtney exclaimed, obviously changing the subject.

"Wait, what happened?" Adam questioned seriously, taking hold of her arm.

She shook her head, "Nothing. It was just something stupid."

"Is it what Jo was threatening to tell at dinner?" Adam looked more concerned than he did angry. Courtney lit up her watch. It read 3:30.

"Let's walk and talk."

It was starting to get chilly and Courtney was desperately hoping for Adam to put his arm around her, but he didn't. _It's not like I did anything bad, right?_ She asked herself.

"So, what is it?" Adam asked quietly after they had walked a few minutes.

"I-it's not even anything bad! I don't why Jo was making such a big-"

"Please just tell me. I don't care if it was something smaller than Goldberg's grade point average or bigger than Mt. Everest. If it involves my girlfriend," his voice wavered unsteadily, "I should know."

All at once, guilt flooded through her body like never before. And people like Jo wondered why she was such a goodie-goodie. That was the reason. She felt guilty about the smallest things. Courtney could feel tears strengthening in her eyes. _No, don't do this Courtney, _she instructed herself, but she couldn't hold them back. The magic of the night was gone for Courtney. If only she could've avoided the subject in some way. She was smart, so how had she managed to get herself into this?

"I'm sorry. I-I…"her voice faltered. "We were in my room-"

"Who?" Adam interrupted suddenly. His eyes were wide and fearful.

"Me and Charlie," Courtney answered softly.

Adam stopped in his tracks. "Charlie?" he asked loudly. "Ya know, I don't really feel like walking anymore. I just want to know what happened."

"Okay," Courtney agreed, "We were in my room and-and see, I knew Charlie liked me, but he wouldn't admit it. So, I had to test him."

"How?" Adam whispered. The gentle flow of the wind shifted his hair to the side. Courtney reached out to touch it, but Adam retreated backwards. "How?" He repeated.

"Adam," Courtney choked, "I swear it wasn't bad. I didn't want to hurt you. You know I'd never do that."

"Just tell me how, please," Adam said a little less intense. He was staring straight into her eyes as if to read her mind.

"I kissed him to see if he would kiss me too," Courtney whispered. Adam's face relaxed a little.

"That's all?" He laughed. "Courtney!" He cried, swooping her up in his arms. He twirled her around joyfully. She flashed him a weak smile. "That's not that bad. I thought it was going to be something really bad. I was just hoping you wouldn't have to go to a doctor!" He pulled her up against his body and rubbed her back, his chin rested on the top of her head.

Courtney sighed happily. She was relieved. She wiped the tears from her face and let their bodies merge. She wished she could stay in that position forever. It may have been a bit cool, but Adam's body warmed hers. She didn't want to go back to the dorms. She wanted to stay on that beach, wrapped in a perfect moment.

When Courtney's eyes were finally free of tears and the both of them could laugh about the torture they had put each other through, they reluctantly headed back to the dorm. Every light was turned out and a creepy silence followed them down the hallways. They came to find that it wasn't very easy trying to navigate through a dorm in pitch-black darkness. Finally, they managed to locate their room.

"I think you missed curfew," Adam laughed. Courtney giggled and pushed him to the wall.

"I think you might have too. Guess I'll see you later," she whispered. She pressed her lips to his moist, warm lips for a kiss. They both started laughing.

"Who's out there?" Coach Bombay asked wearily, cracking his door open a sliver.

"I guess he's already moved in, huh? Gotta go. Good-night," Courtney voiced barely audible. They shared one last kiss before Adam dashed down the hall. Courtney quietly slipped into her room and changed for bed. Both Connie and Dwayne were already shoved under their covers, snoring. Courtney couldn't wait to be like them. She was worn out from the day's events. As she had done before she left, she slept in Adam's bed instead of her own. The moment she laid the covers over herself, she fell into a deep sleep.

When Courtney awoke the next morning, she and Dwayne were the only two in the room. Dwayne was out cold and snoring as loud as ever.

"Dwayne," Courtney whispered into his ear. He didn't budge. "Dwayne," she repeated louder. Still no movement. _Must've had a tiring night_, Courtney thought.

She was beat too, but she knew she couldn't sleep in. As quietly as she could, she assembled her skated and grabbed her stick and a few pucks. She walked to the arena in the pitch-black darkness that was the early hours of Los Angeles. It was peaceful. Frogs and crickets rang out through the morning dew.

It seemed all too soon when she reached the arena. Courtney knew it wouldn't be unlocked but she had also remembered a key that Adam had given her to the backdoor. She wasn't sure how he had come across it, but Courtney wasn't going to ask. It wasn't the first time she had used the key. Courtney often came to the arena before hours. It was calming to skate on the ice with no one there to bother her.

As she entered, she shivered from the significant temperature change. First, she headed to the locker room to change into her skates. Then, she left for the control room. She turned on the lowest setting of lights and spun around to the stereo. She gasped when she saw a yellow sticky note hanging from it. _Uh-oh,_ Courtney thought at first_, Did they find out I've been coming here?_ She stepped closer and noticed Adam's handwriting. Hastily, she snatched up the note as if someone behind her was also trying to read it.

"I knew you'd come down here. So your CD is already set. See you later! Love, Adam," Courtney read aloud to herself. She turned the power on and pressed play. Sure enough, the CD was already set to start playing at that exact time. Laughing, Courtney rushed to the ice. Instead of shooting on goal, she skated around the oval, doing flips and turns. The icy wind on her face was fortifying.

However, she had almost forgotten why she was there. Shaking her head, she bent down over the bench and pulled out her hockey stick and five pucks. She laid each puck in a different angle in front of the goal. Skating from the opposite end, she provided her own commentating.

"And Robertson makes her way down the ice-OH! Magnificent move around Stahl! She beats another defender-she's all alone. One on one. She shoots-she scores! I don't believe it! Robertson speeds down from her own zone all by herself and scores!" Courtney threw her arms up into the air and ran down the boards. For the next puck, she took it down to the opposite goal and skated back, shifting from side to side and ending with a triple deke.

"And she does it again!" Courtney imitated the commentators. She shot in the next two pucks, but she slowly took the fifth puck down the ice and back. She twirled around the invisible defenders and dodged a check, still skating towards the goal. "She fakes, shoots, and-"

"SCORES!" A voice shouted from the stands. Courtney jumped and fell onto the ice. Through the dim light, she couldn't tell whom it was walking out to her. But the moment they stepped into the lights, Courtney let out an excited shriek. She covered her mouth and tried not to cry. He approached her steadily, with a huge grin.

"Wow. Wayne Gretzky! Wow-I'm a huge fan! Oh my gosh!" Courtney babbled.

"Thanks, you're Courtney Robertson, right?" he asked. She nodded dumbly. _I can't believe Wayne Gretzky is standing right in front of me!_ She screamed in her head.

"So I was watching you and-and you've some great moves."

"Thank you sir. But compared to you, that was pee wee," Courtney sighed, laughing.

"Don't put yourself down like that. I've seen you play and believe me, you're much better than pee wee," he replied, also laughing. He took a slow glance around the empty arena. "Ya know, I used to come to the arena everyday before anyone else got there, just like you."

"Really?" Courtney shouted, excitedly, "Well, it's just so peaceful. All you hear is the sound of your skated gliding across the fresh ice. It's really a great place to just…think."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to point something out. Your stick control is a little weak. Are you left handed or right?"

"Right," Courtney immediately shot back, a little too harshly. She was open to pointers from anyone, but she didn't take constructive criticism too well.

"Hmm…"Wayne mumbled. He stared at the stick thoughtfully. "You hold it like you're right handed, yet it looks awkward. Try flipping it this way," Courtney watched him intently. She followed his exact motions through various drills. He smiled, confidently.

"Beautiful," he whispered. "Oh, shoot. I've got to go," he exclaimed, catching sight of his watch.

"Wait!" Courtney cried, suddenly. "Can I get an autograph for my boyfriend and one for me?"

Wayne nodded happily. "Of course! What would you like for me to sign?" Courtney thought hurriedly. _Think, think_! Her brain screamed.

"Well, I've got an extra pair of clothes in the locker room. I s'pose you could sign that shirt for Adam and this shirt for me." Courtney almost said it as if it were a question. Wayne agreed and she ran off the ice to the locker room.

"Thank you _soooo_ very much, Mr. Gretzky! Adam will love this, just like I do," Courtney said to him as he left the arena.


	34. Chapter 34

Courtney flew down the streets, eager to get to the trainer's and see Adam. She threw open the door and ran to his room. Excitedly, she knocked noisily. He quickly snapped it open in panic. He still had on his pajamas and had obviously been asleep. The drowsy look on his face and untidy hair gave him away. Adam's face relaxed when he saw Courtney. Without saying a word, she shoved the plain white T-shirt in his face. Adam slowly unfolded the T-shirt, with a confused look on his face. He inhaled sharply.

"Where did you get this?" He demanded, holding it up into the light. You could see Wayne Gretzky's signature through the shirt.

"When I was at the arena, this morning, he was there! I dunno how, or why, but he was and he helped me with my stick handling. It was so cool, Adam!" Courtney was out of breath by the time she finished talking.

"He was at the arena this morning? Has he ever been there before? Why didn't you call me when you saw him?" Adam bombarded her with questions.

"Adam, he was standing in the seats when I was shooting and he came down and talked to me for awhile and showed me some drills and had to leave. I've never seen him there before. But he knew who I was," Courtney explained.

"Well, did he know who I was?" Adam asked quickly, taking off his shirt and replacing it with the T-shirt Courtney had just given him.

"I didn't have a chance to ask him or talk to him about you. I don't know."

"I've got to go with you next time. To think, I could've met my idol this morning. The man who had a twenty-year career! Two thousand eight hundred fifty-seven points on eight hundred and ninety-four goalies with one thousand nine hundred sixty-three assists!" Adam was out of breath and panting. "Oh, why didn't I go this morning!"

"But at least I got the shirt for you, right? I knew you'd be excited about it. He told me that he used to go to arena's before everyone else got there too." Adam was paying close attention. Courtney had never seen him so alert. He nodded his head, as if wanting to hear more. She looked down at her watch. Instead of heading back to the dorms to get ready for practice, she stayed with Adam and talked for awhile.

Courtney, knowing she was already late for practice, was in no rush to get to the dorms. Finally, she opened her dorm door half an hour late. She sat down to for a moment, not even noticing Dwayne was still fast asleep under his fleece covers. A quick and sudden grunt alerted Courtney of his presence. She gently shook him by the shoulder. He swatted her hand away.

"Get up!" She yelled into his ear. He jumped up instantly, looking around bewildered. Courtney was grabbing her's and Dwayne's belonging as she still sat there motionless.

"I had a dream 'bout you," he finally stated. "I was living at your house and you were yelling at me to make you dinner and clean the fireplace."

"Why would I do that?"

"I dunno," he shrugged. "I was like Cinderella and you were the evil stepsister. I don' wanna be Dwaynerella," he whined.

Courtney stared at him in utter shock. _What the heck is he talking about?_ She wondered. She scratched her head, confused. "Maybe you should lay back down," she suggested. He shook his head, vigorously. "I don't understand," Courtney managed.

"Am I gonna be Dwaynerella when I move in with you?" He asked. Courtney's mouth dropped open. All of their gear hit the floor with a loud _thud_! Dwayne's familiar green eyes followed it to the floor. "What?" he questioned innocently.

Courtney couldn't tear her eyes from his. She felt loved, but at the same angry. She was proud that Dwayne wanted to move into her house, but he had just found out they were twins. What made him think he could just barge right in_? I'm their only child._ _You can't move in_! She screamed in her head, jealously.

"Don't you think it's a little early to be thinking about that?" Courtney angrily snapped at him.

"If you don't want me to move…Well, I just thought…"his voice trailed off as his head dropped shamefully into his lap. Courtney's anger seemed to drain, being filled with guilt. _Way to go, Courtney, you just found out you have a brother and your jealously has already hurt his feelings,_ she thought bitterly.

"Dwayne, you just caught me by surprise. It'd be great to have you live with me. But, I don't know what mom and dad have planned." It felt odd to talk about _her_ parents being _their_ parents.

"Yeah, I just assumed," Dwayne whispered, lifting his head. "Wouldn't it be cool?"

"Yeah," Courtney answered, thinking about how his accent was so different than her own. "Come on, we've got practice. You would've slept clear through it."

He jumped down from his bed and quickly changed. They walked the journey together, laughing about what life would be like, living together. _He's so different from us, _Courtney thought. _His accent, his tan, his manners. _ She saw him differently now. He wasn't just Dwayne, from her hockey team, anymore. Now, he was Dwayne, her little brother. Those words echoed in her head. _Little brother._ She was the older "be a good role model" sister now. She liked that feeling.

Coach Bombay had definitely transformed from his evil side, but he still made no hesitation in instructing Dwayne and Courtney extra laps at the end of practice for being late. Courtney didn't care, though. She was just happy she was in California and not Minnesota. She was even glad to see Jo. Normally, seeing Jo at least once a day was enough to make her want to vomit. Not that day.

As Connie collapsed onto her bed, Courtney was full of energy, actually wishing that practice had been longer. There wouldn't be many more. _Just tomorrow, and then the big game,_ Courtney thought sadly. She was startled when she heard her cell phone ring.

"Hello?" she asked, breathlessly.

"Honey! How is your day? Good?" Mrs. Robertson asked, attentively.

"Great! It feels so good to be back!"

"That's good. So, did you tell Dwayne? Did he already know? How did he react?" Courtney mother questioned her,

"I told him, mom. Breath," Courtney laughed. "He was really excited about it. He wants to move in with us. Is he?"

"I'm not sure. Honestly, I hadn't really given it much thought." There was an awkward pause. "Well, I know you have a game against Iceland coming up and I just wanted to wish you luck."

"Thanks, mom."

"Bye," Courtney's mother said, politely, hanging up.

Courtney replaced the phone in its charger as Dwayne entered the room. He had obviously just been swimming. His hair laid on his head in a mess of tangles. _That's not a bad idea_, Courtney thought. Seeing as how class wasn't to start for at least three hours, she changed into her bathing suit and met Adam at the Coach's old house. Coach Bombay didn't know they were there, but as long as no one else found out, it was okay.

They snuck around the back of the house to the pool. They jumped, gleefully, headfirst into the pool. The giant splash broke the silence.

"This is nice. Just us. No Averman, no Goldberg; no one but you and me," Adam stated, pushing Courtney's lips towards his.

"Yeah, this is great," Courtney whispered, wrapping Adam's arms around her body. She couldn't pull away from his eyes. She was drowning in them, willingly. Adam smiled and kissed her again, this time more passionately. Courtney knew she shouldn't have expected the moment to last very long. A gentle splash of the water beside them made her break away from Adam. She was confused to see a bright orange beach ball floating next to her arm.

"What the heck?" Courtney exclaimed. Adam was pointing towards the small wooden deck that led out to the pool. Courtney spun around and sighed.

"Hey, guys!" Guy waved happily. He set down his towel and slid into the pool. Courtney gaped up at him.

"What're you doing here?" Adam asked hurriedly.

"Swimming," Guy answered, "Duh! Something you're doing. Why?"

"Guy, I don't think you should be here right now. _We're_ not even supposed to be here," Courtney explained, taking reference to Adam and herself. "Is anyone else with you?"

"Connie."

"If that's all then fine. Why'd you even come here in the first place?" Adam mumbled, as if someone else was listening through the fence.

"Connie heard Courtney call you-"

"But she was asleep!" Courtney insisted. She remembered hearing Connie snoring in the background. She had been extra careful about it.

"She heard you. As for other people being here… Well, pretty much everyone is here."

"Crap," Adam alleged. "We can't have them _here_! They'll destroy this place! We've got to get them to leave."

By that time, Connie had emerged through the gates, accompanied by Russ and Luis. Under Russ' left arm was a six-pack of Cokes. Luis held bags of chips and a container that looked like Ice Cream. Courtney saw Adam's eyes get wide. He looked as if he would faint. Courtney's eyes grew wide too when she saw Jo and Portman walking into the pool area. Now things were bad.

Courtney and Adam tried everything they could to get the team to leave, but no one budges. The whole team, with the exception of Dwayne, Charlie, and Ken had shown up. Courtney and Adam were powerless as they sat and watched their teammates trash a house that none of them lived in.

An hour prior to class, Courtney and Adam left, hoping that they wouldn't be linked to the event. Courtney was sure that someone would complain about that loud party, thanks to Portman who had brought his boom box, next door.

Courtney wasn't surprised when over half of the team didn't show for class, and a few members were late.

"Where is everyone?" Ms. MacKay asked, clearly concerned. "Are they sick?"

"No," Guy answered, "they're swimming.

"But I thought the local pool was closed due to chemical problems in the water?" Ms. MacKay said, thoughtfully.

"Oh, it is," Goldberg assured her. "That's why they're at the Coach's house. He's got a nice pool!"

"Goldberg!" Courtney shouted. She shook her head.

"Oops…" he whispered.

"What!?" Ms. MacKay shouted. She sprinted to a phone hanging on the wall and dialed the phone number of the house that Coach Bombay had once lived in.

"No one's going to pick up," Guy laughed, as if she were stupid.

pressed the speakerphone button and began pacing. She bit her lip, nervously. Courtney listened anxiously to the ringing_. They're in big trouble,_ Courtney thought, slightly happy.

"Party central. Talk to me," it was Jo's voice that finally picked up. Ms. MacKay abruptly stopped in her tracks. Loud rock music thundered behind Jo's voice. Ms. MacKay's expression hardened. Courtney heard Jesse holler and then a big splash.

"Jo, you better get down here this instant," and with saying that, Ms. MacKay disconnected the line.

What members that had shown up for class exchanged glances. They had never seen Ms. MacKay so angry. In fact, Courtney had trouble remembering any time she's seen Ms. MacKay angry at all.

In a huff, she turned to face her class. "Class dismissed!" She yelled. No one needed to be told twice. Courtney bolted to the door with Guy on her heels.

Courtney and Adam thought it better to stay in their room rather than venture to wherever Ms. MacKay and the Coach might have been. Dwayne joined them not long after.

"Y'all were there first, weren't ya? Y'all didn't know all those people'd show up?" he asked, earnestly.

Courtney nodded, hiding under the covers, beside Adam. He buried her in his arms, snuggling under the covers as well. Courtney heard their door snap open, smashing into the wall. She closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep. She could tell Adam really was sleeping. Otherwise, his breathing would've been staggered. Courtney couldn't see who had come into the room. All she heard was whispering.

Dwayne finally answered, "No, they were in class. They were there, but left. Let 'em sleep."

_Thank you, Dwayne,_ Courtney thought, appreciatively. She didn't know if anyone else came into their room that day. Dwayne had let Adam and Courtney sleep through the whole day. Courtney awoke in the middle of the night, still wrapped in Adam's arms. She smiled and fell back to sleep, peacefully. _Enjoy the peace now_, Courtney told herself, _because tomorrow's gonna be hell._


	35. Chapter 35

Courtney's alarm sounded off at six-fifteen. She and Adam both jumped at the sound of the trumpet's blow. Courtney scrambled over Adam to her alarm clock. She smacked it off.

"Ow," Adam grunted.

"Sorry," Courtney apologized, "didn't mean to." She rolled back under the covers, unwilling to get up.

Dwayne was shuffling around in his bunk. There was a loud _crack_ of wood and he jumped down from his bunk. Dwayne stumbled through the darkness towards his suitcase. Courtney saw him grab his clothes, but through them onto his bunk.

"Get up, Connie," he mumbled, shaking her vigilantly. She moaned in aggravation, but also got down from her bed.

"Come on, Courtney. You've got an early practice today. Get up," Adam instructed her.

"No," Courtney objected, like a little girl. She wrapped her arms around his waist and flashed him her puppy dog smile.

"Come on, Courtney. Chances are the coach is already pretty upset, don't make it worse."

"I wanna stay with you," Courtney replied quietly. "Will you come?"

Adam shrugged, "I guess I could come with you. But I'm not gonna skate today. I'm not allowed to until tomorrow!" He said the last few words with extreme excitement. Courtney gasped.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" She reacted, equally as happy as him. "Does this mean you can play in the Iceland game?"

He nodded furiously. Courtney screamed happily. "YES!" She shouted. She hoped over Adam, pulling him up. Dwayne and Connie watched, astonished, as she started dancing around the room with Adam.

"What's going on?" Averman exclaimed, barging into their room. "What's wrong?"

Connie looked from Dwayne to Averman. "Nothing," she responded, nonchalantly, her mouth still hanging open at Courtney.

"Then why did I hear someone scream?" he asked, squinting at Adam. He wasn't wearing his glasses and could barely see.

"Sorry, Averman. That was me. I just found out that Adam's playing with us against Iceland! Isn't that great?" Courtney explained, grinning from ear to ear. Averman wasn't smiling. Luis came walking inside beside him, rubbing his eyes wearily.

"Do you guys ever sleep? I mean, I know today's an early practice an' all, but most of us don't get up until _at least_ six-thirty," Luis whined.

"Sorry, guys. I was excited, that's all. See ya later," Courtney apologized, ushering them out the door.

"Go get changed," Adam whispered.

Courtney had forgotten about the pool incident just long enough to actually look forward to practice that day, especially since Adam would be there. She even made Connie and Dwayne leave early with her.

Not only were they the first to show up, they were the first to be hit by the Category five Hurricane Bombay.

"What were you thinking?" He blasted in their ears. Even Dwayne, who hadn't been there at all, got the lecture. "I don't care if you thought it was just harmless fun, you broke the _law_! Every one of! You trespassed on private property!" Coach Bombay bellowed. His voice was echoing in the arena, making him ten times louder.

Courtney felt hot sticky tears falling down her cheeks. She wasn't the type of person who liked being yelled at. At the time, it had seemed like a good plan to go to Coach Bombay's. All she had wanted was a time to be alone with Adam. How was she to know that Connie would open her big mouth and create chaos?

"I just can't believe you, Courtney! What made you think that? You're smarter than this! And After all I've done-" he stopped himself. It was clear he had something he hadn't wanted to.

"What d'you mean 'all you've done'?" She asked curiously. But there was no time to answer as the rest of the team slowly filed into the arena.

Each time someone new came out onto the ice, Coach Bombay would restart his lecture, repeating the same thing over and over. Courtney bet she had heard it at least twenty times. _At least he yelled at me for having the idea to go to his house before everyone showed up,_ she thought, _it saved me from embarrassment._ Charlie, however, wasn't as fortunate.

"What happened to 'Jo won't do anything bad. She'll want to stay on the tem with Portman'?" He thundered. Charlie stuttered, but no words came out. "Guess you can't always be right, huh, Charlie?"


	36. Chapter 36

Jo was reluctant to leave the safety of the locker room but she did knowing that if she didn't it would only make the problem worse. She cautiously entered the arena knowing Bombay was going to be livid. Though the idea of having a party at his house was fun at first she figured she would regret it in a few hours. Entering the arena she saw Bombay yelling at Goldberg and Averman. She almost turned around to head back to the safety of the locker room but Coach had seen her.

"JO GET OVER HERE NOW!" Bombay screamed at the top of his lungs. Jo slowly turned around and began to walk towards him.

"Hi Coach," Jo greeted cautiously.

"Don't 'Hi Coach' me! What were you thinking?" What were you doing at my house! You trespassed on private property! You broke the law... again! Do you know how much it's going to take to repair it? More than I have at the moment. How much beer did you drink? I know my team and I know that none of them would have brought it. You seem to be the only problem! The team doesn't know anything about you other than the fact that you definitely have a lot of anger and a bad attitude. You choose to keep to yourself! None of us can help you unless we know what you want!" Bombay yelled.

"You want to know what I want? I want you and the rest of your jack A team to leave me alone! No one has ever had a problem with that simple request besides you and your team! Oh and I didn't drink any beer except one bottle! Luis had some and he's the one that took your Playboy magazines and pictures!" Jo yelled back.

"All right Just for your attitude you get to fix my house," Bobmay replied.

"What! Oh no I'm a mechanic, you know I fix cars. I dont do houses except a little plumming," Jo stated.

"Well I sure hope you can pay someone to do it," Bombay said sarcastically.

"What happened to all the money Hendrix gave you?" Jo asked angrily.

"I'm saving it for something," the Coach replied obviously wanting to avoid the subject.

"What you gonna propose to MacKay," Jo asked sarcastically.

"What! No!," Bombay assured.

"Would you just go ahead and tell me what my punishment is all ready," Jo expressed annoyed.

"Three miles on the track after practice, and I want you to go to my house and get the soda cans from your little "party" and bring them here. I'll tell you the rest once you get back," Bombay assured.

"I'm sure you will," Jo replied sarcastically.

Jo left to the locker room and changed into her normal cloths and her black roller blades. As quickly as she could she bladed out of the rink and to Coach Bombay's old house. Now that the damage had been done she had to agree with Coach. It looked like a tornado had run through the inside of the house. Jo quickly got a garbage bag and picked up all the stray cans.

After doing a double take she bladed back out of the house and locked it before returning to the ice rink. As soon as she arived Bombay gave her a sly smile.

"I dont like the way your smiling at me," Jo stated trying to keep her distance.

"You're not going to like me very much in a few minutes. You dont have to get in your gear now, not for what you'll be doing," the Coach replied.

"And what am I doing?" Jo asked.

"You are going to help Luis. You build a wall with the cans, Luis will skate toward you, try and stop, and every time they cans fall you make the wall again," Bombay expressed with a smile.

"What! You do realize that Luis couldn't stop if his life depended on it?" Jo asked. "And how exactly is this practice?"

"This isn't practice it's punishment," Bombay corrected.

"Well excuse me," Jo replied sarcastically. Jo put on her ice skates and went over to Luis, telling him what would be happening.

After about the third time of having to restack the cans Jo was ready punch both the Coach and Luis. 'It won't make neither Luis or Gorden happy but it sure as hell will make me feel good,' Jo thought. Jo noticed Courtney had finally exited the locker room and was now making her way toward her. 'Well they say misery loves company,' Jo thought.

Luckily, Courtney was able to sneak off to the bathroom before the coach started on Jo. She spent as long as she cold just sitting in the locker room before returning to the ice. Thankfully, when she returned the team was already working on drills.

Courtney laughed as she watched Jo place can after can on top of each other. Adam looked ver out of place as he approached her. He was the only one, besides the coach, not wearing any gear,

"That's her punishment. She's building a wall of cans. Luis is going to skate towards it and try to stop. Every time he runs into it, she rebuilds it," Adam explained. Just then, Luis went whizzing by, but didn't stop. Cans went crashing all across the ice. Jo looked livid, but Courtney burst out laughing as Averman tripped over a stray can.

"What are you laughing at Robertson? That's what you'll be doing, as well as two miles on the track after practice. It better be under thirteen minutes or you're doing four. Get over there," Coach Bombay pointed.

"What!" Courtney proclaimed, crossing her arms. "That's not fair!"

"Sorry," Adam offered, "I've only got to run one." He laughed slightly, lightening the mood.

Courtney joined Jo. Jo made no acknowledgment of Courtney's presence_. This absolutely stinks_, Courtney thought bitterly. _How is this practice? What are we practicing for? The dofus convention? This is supposed to be hockey. _They stacked cans for over an hour until the coach called them over.

"You two go work on goal. Shoot on Goldberg. It'll give him practice; he needs it."

"How many miles did you get?" Courtney asked as they skated towards the goal.

"Three," Jo answered. "Like I'm actually gonna run it." Not another word was passed between them.

Courtney met almost every one of her teammates out on the track. Dwayne, Charlie and Ken watched from the stadium. Coach Bombay blew the starting whistle and they all started to run as one massive group. Courtney hated it. The sun was unbearable and they were right in its path. She watched Coach Bombay leave through the hates and heard his car start and then leave. _Why are we still running if he's gone_? Courtney wondered. Apparently, Jess thought the same thing. He had stopped running, but not one second later was there a loud whistle and Bryan screamed, "Keep running!" He had just appeared from behind the bleachers. _Great,_ Courtney thought, sarcastically.

Courtney ran her two miles in twelve minutes and fifteeen seconds. Jesse and Adam were done as well. The three of them watched Goldberg barely running at all.

"Bets he ends up running like fifty miles!" Jesse joked.

Courtney didn't laugh. She was too tired. She'd had barely any sleep for the past few days. She immediately retreated to the dorm, took a shower and fell asleep.

It wasn't until two-thirty in the afternoon the next day that she woke up. The Iceland game was a day away and she was already nervous about it. The weather seemed to reflect her mood. It was cloudy, with only a little bit of sunlight reaching down. The team had practice again in an hour. Courtney was dreading it. _If it's anything like yesterday, I'm faking sick_, she thought.

As she left the room to go get breakfast, there was a piece of paper hanging on her door from Coach Bombay.

Don't bring gear to practice.

Just skates and wear regular clothes.

Coach Bombay

Courtney sighed. Maybe this was a good thing. How much work could you possibly do if you had no gear? It seemed as if everyone was already at the arena. No one was eating, not even Goldberg. Courtney felt a little left out being the only one there. She ate as fast as she could and hurried to the arena.

"Hey, guys. What's going on?" She asked as she skated onto the ice.

"We don't know. We're waiting for coach to get here," Russ answered. "He's late for his own practice!"

"Guys!" Coach Bombay shouted from the door. "Come here!" Everyone skated slowly towards him, not quite sure what to expect. "This is our last practice before the big game. I want you to remember something."

"What? This is the only game that matters?" Dwayne asked.

"No. Have fun. And since this _is_ the last practice, we're gonna have some fun!" Coach Bombay pulled a huge bag of beach balls in through the doors. "You left these at my place," he laughed. The team eagerly went through the bag throwing and kicking the balls around.

"Come on," Adam edged Courtney. He grabbed a ball and threw it at her like dodge ball.

"Adam!" She screamed. She picked up the same bright orange ball that Guy had thrown into the pool beside her and aimed at Adam.

"DODGE BALL!" Jesse shouted. He picked up balls and started chucking them through the air. The team was having fun and so was Coach Bombay. Jesse looked to everyone else. "One, two, three…FIRE!" At once, the whole team threw their balls at Coach Bombay.

"Hey!" He yelled. He picked up the balls and started retaliating. He threw a ball at Goldberg, but he ducked just in time. The ball slowly rolled away from him and stopped at the feet of Wolf "The dentist" Stansson. He picked up the ball and looked at it disgusted.

"No wonder you can't win a game. You don't practice. Good enough for us," he sneered. Courtney watched his players behind him. They were moving towards Team USA in a black swarm.

"We were just playin' around," Portman growled skating towards him.

"No," Coach Bombay said, pushing him back. "Come on team, let's get outta here." He and his team started to skate off a little.

"Why don't you stay and play a little?" Stansson mocked him. He turned to Marria, his trainer, and nodded his head. She threw him two hockey sticks and slid a puck up to his feet. Coach Bombay wasn't smiling. "Come on, show me your 'famous triple deke' that your mommy taught you." Coach Bombay's expression was unreadable. He stood, shaking on the ice from anger.

"Let's go," he retorted.

"Gordon, no," Ms. MacKay warned. She had been quiet the entire time up until now. "Don't. You need to prove anything."

"I'm proving to my team that I can beat him and they can beat his team." He turned back to Stansson. "Three Bar. First one to hit both posts and the cross bar. Gotta take it out past the blue line." Stansson nodded his head, approving. He threw the stick to Coach Bombay who caught it and stared at it.

"All right," Fulton and Portman cheered.

Stansson had the puck first. He looked confident as he whizzed down the ice in full control. He did a spinning move around Coach Bombay and slammed the puck. He hit the post with a _ding_! The Iceland team cheered. Team USA gave them dirty looks.

Now Coach Bombay had control over the puck. Stansson tried to steal the puck, but lost his balance. The coach took an easy shot and hit the post. Now Team USA cheered wildly.

The puck was placed on the middle blue line. Coach Bombay and Stansson glared at each other. Coach Bombay stole the puck and headed down the ice. Stansson was right beside him and elbowed him, stealing the puck. Team USA dropped their heads. Ms. MacKay nervously bit her fingernails. However, Coach Bombay was flying down the ice, catching up to Stansson. He crossed over in front of him and retrieved the puck. He took it back and hit the post. His team cheered madly, jumping up and down.

"One more, Coach!" Goldberg screamed over the cheers.

"Hear that?" Coach Bombay taunted Stansson. "One more and I win."

The puck was placed in the middle once again. But now it wasn't just a competition of the coach's. Ms. MacKay and Marria were cutting eyes at each other.

"Nervous yet?" Marria jeered.

"No, why should I be?" Ms. MacKay snapped. "I know Gordon will win. _You_ should be nervous, you psychopathic, dispossessed, washout, nincompoop!"

"What did you call me? You foul idiot. You dunce. You couldn't be more of a moron in you tried. You lousy, numbskull."

"Who are you calling a moron? You ignoramus, imbecile."

"Ladies!" Coach Bombay cried. "Please! Be quiet!" He returned back to Stansson. "What're you waiting for, madam?"

Stansson scowled at him. "Ladies first," he commented. Stansson stole the puck out from under Coach Bombay and was heading down towards the goal.

'Come on, Coach!" Courtney cried. Coach Bombay pumped his legs and caught up to Stansson, once again crossing over in front of him and stealing the puck. He started down towards to opposite goal. The team felt victory as he inched closer and closer the goal. They screamed at the top of their lungs. None of them were paying attention to the insults still being thrown between Ms. MacKay and Marria. They weren't even paying attention the game itself. They were already celebrating their win against Stansson. No one saw Stansson's stick being thrown up into the air, or it coming down on Coach Bombay's bad knee.

He yelped and skidded down onto the ice. Ms. MacKay rushed forward to him. "Gordon! I told you not to play!" The team rushed forward as well.

"You must leave. We need to practice," Stansson grumbled. "Get off the ice." Portman and Fulton were eyeing the Iceland team. They were slowly moving towards the team.

"Dean, no," Jo snapped. He backed off immediately.

"Team, let's go," Coach Bombay said, limping off the ice.


	37. Chapter 37

Courtney had trouble falling asleep that night. Her stomach was in knots. She couldn't get the Iceland game off her mind. This was the first night Adam was allowed to stay back in the dorms and that was the only thing that could possible take the game off her mind for at least a second. Courtney peered at him through the darkness. They caught each other's eye.

"I can't sleep," Adam whispered. He sat up and sighed, bored.

"I can't either," Courtney replied, throwing her pillow to him. He held it close to his chest.

"Come over here," he said, patting the bed.

Courtney got out from under her covers and slid under his covers beside him, laying her head on his shoulder.

"You wanna take a walk?" Adam suggested. Courtney took his wrist and lit up his watch. It read eleven forty-two.

She shrugged, "I guess so.

They silently put on their shoes and shut the door as quietly as they could. Although the halls were silent and no light shown from under the doors, Courtney doubted anyone was actually asleep. Courtney and Adam made their way out of the dorm with no one stopping them. Walking along the deserted streets under the stars was calming.

"I'm so stressed out about tomorrow," Adam commented, breaking the silence. "There's so much pressure and the odds of us winning…are not good."

"Adam," Courtney began, stopping on the side of the street, taking his hand in hers. "I want you to forget about math. Okay? Proportions, probability; forget it. Forget about scouts. Forget that the other team is over double our size."

"Thanks, Courtney. I hadn't thought about that," he replied, sarcastically.

"Listen to me. Forget it all. When you're on the ice tomorrow, all I want you to think about is having fun and playing your best. Oh, and if you can fit in: winning," Courtney teased.

"I'll think about you. I'll win for you if you win for me."

"Deal. You score for me; I'll score for you. Deal?"

"Deal," Adam confirmed. "How about we seal the deal with a kiss?" Courtney nodded, enthusiastically. She tilted her head to the side as Adam gently placed his hands on her neck. His lips touched hers smoothly. Courtney let her hands slide easily into his back pocket. Adam's body pushed against her own warmed her.

It was well after two am by the time they got back to the dorms. No one stopped them form entering the building. _You'd think we would have better security,_ Courtney pondered as she fell asleep.

Thankfully, the game wasn't scheduled until four p.m., that night. The whole team slept in. Courtney felt too lazy to get up and do anything. She laid under the covers, awake, what seemed like hours.

Around noon, Charlie knocked furiously on the door. "I'm going to the arcade. Come with me!"

"I don't wanna go. I'm tired," she whined. Charlie opened the door and stared at her.

"Oh, right. From your walk last night t _midnight_! C'mon, no one else is here and I don't wanna be here, either!"

"Not even the coach? Jo? Where's Adam?" Charlie shook his head at the mention of their names.

"Coach wouldn't say where he was going, neither would Jo. Adam's with Dwayne playing basketball," he explained. "Please, let's go."

Courtney sighed, "Fine. Let me change first."

Reluctantly, she left with Charlie to go to the arcade. They spent an hour alone playing air hockey. Courtney creamed Charlie every time.

"Do you give up?" Courtney giggled.

"Yes!" Charlie exclaimed. "Let's race instead."

They spent another hour racing Taxi's through narrow tunnels and busy New York streets hitting pedestrians and anything else in their way. Courtney smiled as she beat Charlie for the eighth time in a row. Courtney looked up at the clock on the wall. It was already two forty-five. _Almost game time,_ Courtney thought nervously.

"We've got to go," Courtney mumbled, "The coach'll kill us if we're no there by three fifteen."

Courtney and Charlie ran non-stop back to the dorm just in time to catch the bus with the rest of the team. Courtney threw herself down into a chair and gasped for air. Adam was already seated with Dwayne, so she had a seat to herself. _There's the coach, but I don't see Jo,_ Courtney thought curiously as she gazed around the bus_. Guess she's already there_.

There was silence as the team descended the bus steps. Reporters and fans were screaming out the their names and trying to push forward to them. Courtney caught sight of Hunter, the little boy from the restaurant. He was waving his small arms up and down crazily, telling her name.

"HEY HUNTER!" She cried over the crowds. He heard her and smiled proudly. Coach Bombay ushered her into the locker room.

The team sat facing Coach Bombay; everyone but Jo. They stared up at him anxiously. They all knew this was what they had trained for. This was it. Coach Bombay stared at everyone's face with a slight smile.

"I don't really know what to say to you guys-"

"_People_," Connie corrected him.

"Right. I'm so proud of you all. All I can say is have fun and try your hardest. Forget about what happened at our practice. Don't sink to their level. Show them why you got this far!" He yelled, suddenly. "Remember everything you've been through to get here. That's more than them! C'mon Ducks, you can do it!"

"Yeah!" Jesse screamed, clapping his hands together.

"Wait!" Coach Bombay called as they headed to the door. "Just remember: the duck is the most noble, intelligent, agile creature in the animal Kingdom. Live up to your name."

"We're the ducks again," Courtney smiled as they left the locker room.

"Yeah," Adam agreed, "But so much for him not having anything to say to us."

They reached the ice and went through the normal procedure before they skated to the bench. The referee blew his whistle, signaling for Coach Bombay's players.

"One, two, three-"

"USA ALL THE WAY!" The team shouted in unison.

"Remember our deal," Adam whispered to Courtney as they took their place on the ice.

Courtney's heart was beating wildly. She took in a deep breath and looked to Guy, who was on the ice beside Adam. He gave her an anxious smile and thumbs up.

Courtney glanced around at everyone on and off the ice. Adam stared at the patch of ice before him, then closed his eyes tightly. Jo, who was also on the ice, showed no emotion. _Figures,_ Courtney thought. Goldberg was shaking between the posts, with Jesse whispering something to him. Coach Bombay looked somewhat calm, shouting words of encouragement to his team. Luis sat next to him sullen. Courtney felt bad for him. She couldn't imagine training so hard and them not being able to play in the final game.

The arena was the loudest Courtney had ever heard before. Fans with their faces painted red, white, and blue hollered and banged their fists on the plexi glass. They brought Courtney's attention back on the game.

The referee blew his whistle and the puck was dropped. It was a confidence booster for the US when Guy swiped away the puck from Iceland. He flipped the puck back to Courtney who immediately headed for Iceland's goal. Olaf Sanderson was charging towards her. Quickly, she shot the puck between her legs back to Jo. Jo sailed it up to Adam, who was automatically flipped. The Iceland player flew down the boards, managing to keep the puck the entire time. He skated behind the US net for a wrap around shot. However, Jo was there to block the shot. The US bench cheered. Yet, Sanderson had come up behind Jo, tripping her. In the process, Goldberg was knocked down, resulting in a turn over in front of an open net. The puck was passed out to Gunnar Stahl for an easy goal. The buzzer rang out. The Iceland team already had a 1-0 lead and it hadn't even been five minutes.

Courtney slumped back to the bench and didn't look at anyone's face.

"Russ!" Coach Bombay shouted. Russ instantly shot up and skated onto the ice. Coach Stansson watched him skate out. With a hint of fear in his eyes, he sent out two of his biggest players.

Dwayne tried passing the puck to Russ. _Slap it in,_ Courtney pleaded. Before Russ could set up the Knucklepuck, he had been bashed into the boards and Iceland had possession once again. Before anyone knew what happened, Iceland was up 2-0.

Courtney covered her eyes. This was turning out to be worse than the first time the two teams had met. The announcer was calling out the numbers of who had scored as Coach Bombay was trying to figure out whom to put on the ice next.

"Ken, Courtney, Averman," Coach Bombay mumbled, trying to keep his cool. Averman won the face off and slapped the puck before being tackled. It slid into the boards. Courtney rushed to it.

"No!" She yelled, frustrated. It was stuck. She couldn't get it away from the board. Pieces of shredded ice were slowly melting on the puck. "Come on!"

"Courtney!" Ken shouted. She looked up and saw Olaf Sanderson pumping his legs to get to her. She fumbled with the puck, tears almost falling from her eyes. She knew she would be trampled. Courtney heard the crowd gasp. She closed her eyes, steadying herself for the hit, but nothing came. She opened her eyes slowly and spun around. Her mouth dropped open. Dwayne was standing with a rope in his hand. He grinned at Courtney. Lying at his feet entangled in ropes was Olaf.

"No one hurts my sister," Dwayne stated proudly. Courtney embraced him, gratefully.

"Thanks," she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek, "bro."

The referee blew his whistle. "Two minutes!" He yelled, leading Dwayne to the penalty box. Courtney was already skating back to the bench.

"Guess your little boyfriend is better, huh?" Olaf asked her tauntingly, with his accent. Courtney stopped. She let her stick and gloves fall to the ice. She felt anger coursing through her.

"It was you?" She demanded, advancing to him.

He nodded, "I guess we didn't hit him hard enough," he sneered. Courtney couldn't hold herself back. She knew her mom and dad would see, but she didn't care.

"You son of a bitch," She leaped on Sanderson and started punching him. Her anger had overtaken any logic she had. Her face was hot and the blood was pumping through her body. "You mess with him, you mess with me." She wouldn't let him get a word out. She continuously punched him, throwing off his helmet. She heard whimpering that wasn't from her or Olaf. She looked to her side and saw Jo bashing Gunnar Stahl's head along the plexi glass.

"That's for getting Dean thrown out!" She screamed in his ear.

Suddenly, Courtney felt herself being lifted up. She stared up into Fulton's eyes. What's going on? She wondered. He pushed her off the ice and into the locker room. He lifted her onto a table and looked directly in her eyes. Courtney felt like a little girl.

"What was that?" He questioned.

"He-he beat up Adam," Courtney stuttered. Fulton sighed and wiped the tears from her face. She hadn't been aware of her crying.

"You need to concentrate on the game. Adam can take care of himself. You can't get in fights like that. You're just putting our team down. Now, we've got to play three down."

Courtney nodded, "Sorry."

"Get back out there."

Courtney returned to the bench. She apologized to Coach Bombay and joined Dwayne and Jo in the penalty box. Dwayne left shortly after, leaving Courtney and Jo alone together. They sat silent until their five minutes were up and returned to the team bench. Coach Bombay patted each of them on the back as they sat down.

"Keep your head up, guys," he said. He turned to everyone else. "Adam, Jesse, Charlie, Fulton, go," he instructed. They all nodded. Adam and Jesse easily passed the puck into the Iceland zone. Jesse had control now. He took a shot, but it was blocked. The rebound came right out to Adam. Adam wasn't looking at the puck. He was staring at the same player who had spiked his drink at the club.

"You," he whispered in disbelief.

"Hello," the Iceland player laughed menacingly. "Feelin' better?" He mocked. He swiped the puck from Adam.

"Hey!" Adam yelled, spinning around. "Oof!" Adam had been hit from behind. The referee blew his whistle, charging over.

"Two minutes!" He yelled. Team USA cheered louder than the fans. They had the first power play! There was hardly any time left on the clock, so they knew they had to make it count.

"I want Jo, Courtney, Portman…and Charlie," the coach explained. They climbed out onto the ice. The ref blew his whistle once again and the power play had begun.

Courtney sailed down the ice with the puck, using the moves Wayne Gretzky had shown her. She felt good being part of the game.

"Courtney, pass!" She heard Charlie yell. She looked up at the player in front of her. She had just enough time to pass the puck to him. Portman was waiting behind him for the puck. One minute and twenty seconds was left. Charlie let the puck fall back to Portman. They were in Iceland's zone now. Portman stopped halfway and sailed the puck up to Jo. She shifted past the defenders and shot it to Charlie. He only grazed the puck. There were only forty seconds left. Portman dodged to retrieve the puck. He swatted it back to Jo.

"Jo!" Courtney called. She was wide open. "Pass!" Jo heard her and passed it while thrashing Gunnar into the boards. By the time the puck reached Courtney, she didn't have the open shot anymore and the clock was ticking down. She glanced up at Adam on the bench. He was watching her eagerly. She turned her attention back to the game. She had to pass the puck. Only fifteen seconds left. Courtney shifter her eyed from the clock to the puck. Charlie had control with five seconds left. He wound back to shoot, but was tackled by Sanderson. Olaf took the puck down the ice and slid it past Goldberg without breaking a sweat. The period was over and USA was losing 3-0.


	38. Chapter 38

The team trudged into the locker room, their spirits and determination to win was next to non-existent. Everyone sat down on the benches, waiting for an encore of Captain Blood. Coach Bombay walked through the door like a man with a purpose, silent but deadly. His eyes panned across the room, not catching anyone else's. It was like a game of Russian roulette and no one wanted to be the person he landed on.

Goldberg looked up at the moment Bombay glared at him and immediately attempted to shift his eyes but it was too late. "What the hell were you doing out there?" Bombay roared. "I thought you were a goalie! Your job is to make sure those little black toys you're playing with out there don't get into the net!"

Jo snickered. Bombay rounded on her. "And you! You TRIPPED our goalie! Why don't you just put on a black jersey and join the other team; you're more helpful to them!"

Coach Bombay took a deep breath in, but if the team thought he was cooling down they were wrong. "Russ! Adam! Charlie! Jo! Courtney! Do you know what the five of you have in common?"

No one was dumb enough to answer and the room remained silent. "Okay, since you can't answer I'll tell you: speed the hell up! This isn't curling, you have to get your ass moving!"

Jo started to open her mouth to say something, but Portman lightly put his hand on her shoulder. She took a breath in and didn't continue. Bombay glared at her for a moment and continued on. He turned to Dwayne. "Can I just ask where you got a damn piece of rope from? Is this a rodeo? I must have missed the clowns, but did you plan on bringing cows onto the ice?" Dwayne stammered something that sounded like a "no sir".

"Speaking of rodeos and clowns, did you two enjoy making a fool of yourselves?" Coach Bombay had turned to Jo and Courtney now. Courtney didn't speak, but kept her eyes on her laces. Jo, however, glared straight at Bombay, egging him to continue.

"Courtney I know your parents raised you better than to get into a fight on national television!" Courtney nodded, still gazing at her skates.

Coach Bombay snapped his attention to Jo. "Where were your parents when you were growing up?" His face was filled with anger. "Where do you get off thinking you could behave that way? You've been trouble since the beginning! I never should have let you on my team. If you were my child, you never would have done that!"

Jo jumped up, mirroring his anger. "Well maybe if I am such a mistake you should have used a condom or were you too drunk to use protection?"

"What are you talking about? You have some nerve talking to me like that!" Coach Bombay screamed in Jo's face.

"Rachel Turner, summer of 1990. Ring any bells?" Jo raged. Coach Bombay stood there, a puzzled look on his face. "I'll be blunt. I'm your bastard daughter!"

The team sat in silence, Bombay and Jo still not breaking eye contact.

"Oh yeah, I knew it. Who called it, c'mon who called it?" Averman asked breaking the silence.

"Shut up, Averman!" the team rounded on him in unison.

"Well ok everyone," Ms. Mckay said uneasily, trying to change the subject and diffuse the tension, "Now that we have all gotten our feelings out in the open, does anyone else have anything they would like to share? No? Ok well go out there and do your best everyone."

"We'll talk later," Coach Bombay mumbled to Jo.

"Damn right we are," Jo shot back as she left the locker room, Portman quickly followed her out the door. The team filed out after him.

"Hey are you okay?" Portman asked coming up from behind Jo.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jo grumbled as she put her helmet back on and skated back onto the ice.

Skating out onto the ice again, Team USA hadn't been inspired. If it was possible, Courtney felt worse than she had coming off of the first period. The referee's let the two teams warm up a bit before restarting the game. For Team USA, Ken, Connie, Fulton, and Portman were out on the ice.

"Okay, Ken. You've got Portman and Fulton out there for protection. If you can split their defense, you should have an open shot," Coach Bombay mumbled to him. Ken nodded and hurried out to the ice.

The ref blew the whistle. Connie was quick to grab for the puck. Fulton and Portman charged at the Vikings. Only two more players were still standing. Portman quickly took care of one and Fulton the other. Connie hurried to the Iceland zone. Two of their defenders had already gotten back up onto their feet. Ken leaped up into the air and sailed between the two of them. He halted right before the goalie. Connie flipped the puck to him. He instantly shot it behind the goalie. The stands and Team USA's bench lit up. Courtney thought it was loud that the building might fall down. Ken had gotten Team USA back on the map. It was 3-1 now.

As Ken returned to the bench, everyone patted him happily on the head. He smiled at the coach. Portman and Fulton, however. Hadn't returned to the bench. They were slapping their teammate's hands as they skated along the benches.

"Yeah!" Portman shouted as he headed to Iceland's bench. He and Fulton whizzed past them, hitting each of them on the head. Courtney couldn't believe what she was seeing. The referee's immediately jumped towards Portman and Fulton and led them off the ice.

"Ten minutes! Unsportsmanlike conduct!" He shouted.

Coach Bombay dropped his head. He turned to his team. "Don't do what they just did it," he demanded. "Jo, Dwayne, Connie, Averman."

He turned back to the ice as the four of them clambered out to the ice. Connie had control of the puck, swiftly shifting it to Dwayne. Dwayne flicked it back and forth between his feet. He laughed as he skated down the ice. He shot it to Averman, but Averman was flipped. Gunnar Stahl took the puck down the boards and shot it. Goldberg made a spectacular dive and then rebounded the puck to Jo. Coach Bombay was calling Dwayne, Connie, and Averman off the ice.

"Jesse, Adam, Charlie. Flying V!" He shouted.

Jesse stood apprehensively behind their goal. He took in a deep breath, but didn't move.

"Come on, Jesse!" Charlie shouted. Jesse nodded and came around the side of the goal with Adam and Charlie behind him. Courtney felt excitement course through her. It looked as if they would score again. She looked away as she saw a line of black smashing into the V. They had all been knocked down by the force of the Iceland team. Now it was one on four. Jo was the only player on defense. Gunnar had the puck and skillfully played the puck around her and easily scored.

"Courtney, Russ, Guy, Ken," Coach Bombay stated. "Russ, get on defense for now." Russ stared at him like he was crazy, but followed the order. Courtney had a good feeling about something when she hit the ice. Guy and Ken held the puck out of Team USA's zone. They kept it at halfway. Courtney knew what she had to do. She sprinted past the Iceland players and stopped behind one of their huge defenders. Guy slowly brought the puck into Iceland's zone. None of the Vikings had paid attention to Courtney because she was, they though, being guarded. At the last second, Courtney passed in front of the defender at the same time that Guy hit the puck toward the goal. She sailed the puck past the goalie as the buzzer sounded. The quarter was over and the score was 4-2. She screamed in joy.

"YES!" She shouted, hugging Guy and Ken. "Alright!" She skated back to the bench to head to the locker room. "I kept my end of the bargain," she whispered to Adam. He smiled and took her hand.

"I'll keep mine. Don't worry."

Even though the team was losing, the locker room was filled with excited voices and laughter. Courtney had taken off her gear and sat next to Adam and Connie talking. The laughter and conversations died down when Coach Bombay walked into the locker room with a frown.

"Did you guy have fun?" he asked.

"YEAH!" they all shouted.

"So did they, because they're winning right now. We're down by two and one period away from a loss.

Jesse stood up. "We're trying our best."

"Are you?" He asked. "I think you can try harder."

"If we can't beat them we as may as well keep out pride," Jesse tried. The team agreed with him.

Coach Bombay hung his head. "That's not pride. You can't retaliate with everything they've done to us. _Although, some people would_. Not us. We won't sink to their level."

Courtney looked to Adam, who was nodding. "Yeah," he answered. Courtney nodded to. Coach Bombay was right.

"We're not goons. We're not bullies. No matter what other people say and do, we have to be ourselves." Coach Bombay turned to Portman. "You. Who are you?"

"Dean Portman."

"From where?"

"Chicago, Illinois."

"You," he pointed at Jo.

"Jo Turner," she replied. "From Chicago, Illinois."

"You," Coach Bombay stated, pointing at Adam.

He stood up. "Adam Banks. Edina, Minnesota." Courtney stood up to.

"Courtney Robertson. Minneapolis, Minnesota."

Every player stood up, proudly stating their name and where they were from. After every player had gone, Ms. MacKay stepped forward

"Michele MacKay. Duluth, Minnesota."

Coach Bombay stepped forward, next to her. "And I'm Gordon Bombay from Minneapolis, Minnesota. We're Team USA. We're gathered from everywhere across the America. We're gonna stick together. Through thick and thin we'll fly together because-"

"We're Ducks," said Jan, who had been standing behind Coach Bombay the entire time and finally walked into the room.

"Exactly!" Coach Bombay shouted. "So, just when you think everything's about to fall apart-"

"DUCKS FLY TOGETHER!" The team finished his sentence for him.

"And when the wind blows hard and the sky is black?" Ms. MacKLay asked.

"DUCKS FLY TOGETHER!" They shouted again.

"And when the roosters are crowing and the cows are spinning circles in the pastures?" Dwayne yelled.

The team looked at one another. "Ducks fly together!"

"And when everyone says it can't be done…Ducks fly together," Coach Bombay said softly.

"Now," Jan said as he stepped forward, "I think we need to show these Icelanders whose boss. And I thought perhaps this would do it," he proclaimed, throwing open a brown box on one of the benches.

Courtney gasped, "Oh my gosh!" She screamed. Jan pulled out new style Duck jerseys. They were white jerseys with the Duck logo on them. The kids rushed forward, eager to get their jerseys.

"Win or lose," said Coach Bombay, "we go out like Ducks!" The team shouted along with him. "Mighty Ducks!"


	39. Chapter 39

A new team skated out onto the ice at the beginning of the third quarter. They were refreshed and powered. The stands exploded when they saw the new jerseys. Apparently, the fans liked them just as much as the team did.

Coach Stansson tried to object to the change, but the officials said there was no rule against it. Angrily, Coach Stansson began to lead the Vikings chant. Coach Bombay gathered his team around him.

"Hand in, everyone," he instructed.

"Quack, quack," they all whispered together, getting louder and louder. The fans behind them began to chant it to. Louder and louder it grew until it filled the whole arena. Iceland was trying to scream louder, but no one was listening to them. "QUACK, QUACK!" The noise filled their ears. Iceland stopped their chant and stared at the Ducks.

As the third quarter started, the Vikings seemed to have lost their concentration. Jo had control of the puck and was able to twirl around every player and shot the puck into the Viking goal almost effortless. Team USA cheered and shouted from the bench. It was 4-3. They were only losing by one point. Stansson screamed at his team, veins popping out in his neck.

"Come on! Score another one!" Courtney shouted to Connie, Charlie, Jesse, and Fulton who were all out on the ice. The Ducks took off strong, but the Vikings weren't about to beat. They seemed to put themselves back together and the next play for the Ducks was no longer than a few seconds. They pushed passed the Ducks and slapped another goal into the net.

Coach Bombay sent out Dwayne, Ken, Courtney, and Portman. _Okay, Courtney. Concentrate. You can do this_, she told herself. They managed to stop Iceland from scoring, but couldn't get into their zone. Coach Bombay called them back onto the bench. He tried assortments of people together but nothing seemed to be working.

Time was ticking down for the Ducks. Only two minutes remained in the game. Courtney felt the dream slipping through her fingers like water does. Her spirits dropped.

"Don't give up, yet," Adam whispered to her. "I've still got my part of the deal to work out."

"Adam!" Coach Bombay yelled. "Go!" Adam skated out onto the ice and the puck was immediately passed to him. He blocked a check and passed the puck over to Jesse. Jesse shot it to Dwayne. Courtney watched the game attentively. Adam had skated up to the net now. Dwayne sailed the puck to him. He slapped it in before the goalie could get it.

Courtney leaped into the air. She screamed as loud as the fans. She jumped off the bench with Charlie and Connie and embraced him, happily. He smiled widely.

"Told you I'd keep the deal!" He screamed to her.

Coach Bombay patted Adam on the hat as he sat back down. "Way to go, Banks," he congratulated him. The team tried to quiet down, but they couldn't. Now they were really pumped to play. With less than two minutes on the clock, the Ducks knew they had to play hard.

"Time out!" Coach Bombay called before play began again. "Russ, I want you out there. We need to the knucklepuck."

"But, coach they're all over me."

"I know. So this is what we'll do," he explained.

Meanwhile, Coach Stansson was having a fit at the Iceland bench. He was screaming in Icelandic at throwing hockey sticks at the wall behind him.

"Alright!" Coach Bombay yelled at the end of the huddle. The Ducks took their spaces out on the ice. Stansson sent out his best defenders to deal with Russ. He knew Coach Bombay would want a good shot for the last goal. Stansson wasn't going to let that happen. His smile faded as he didn't see Russ anywhere out on the ice. All he saw was the puck being maintained in the Ducks zone, but not by his team. The Ducks were casually passing the puck between themselves in their own zone. Stansson looked to Bombay, clearly confused. Bombay smiled mischievously.

He turned back to the game. He stole a quick glance at the clock, then yelled, "NOW!"

Jesse nodded and hit the puck back to Goldberg. Goldberg skated up to center ice. Iceland stared at him. They had no clue what was going on. He tore off the goalie mask and everyone got quiet. It wasn't Goldberg at all. It was Russ! The Iceland team was too stunned to move. Averman quickly handed Russ his stick.

"NO!" Stansson growled. By the time his team found their legs to move, Russ had already slapped the puck into the goal. The buzzer sounded off. The Ducks screamed louder than ever. They hopped up and down in pure excitement. They had done it! They were tied with the Vikings! All that was left was a shoot-out now.

Courtney threw off her helmet and Adam's. She pulled him towards her and kissed him hard. He grinned from ear to ear. As the excitement grew down, Coach Bombay tried to ready his team for the shoot-out. He was whispering to Coach Ms. MacKay.

"Okay, team. Here's what we've got to do. I've got choose five players for a shoot-out." He looked at his team. "Courtney," he said. "Jo." He looked around at them again. "Dwayne, Fulton, and Adam."

The five of them glanced at each other and nodded. Courtney was up first. She had never been so nervous before in her life. She sat waiting for Iceland to go first. The Iceland player circled the puck for a minute, then took it down towards Goldberg. He zoomed the puck past Goldberg.

Courtney stood up and got ready to go out onto the ice.

"Good luck, Courtney," Adam whispered, giving her a kiss on the cheek. She smiled weakly.

Courtney wasn't sure if her legs would support her. Her knees trembled, she was so nervous. She breathed in deeply and hit the puck forward. She watched the puck slide back and forth between her stick. She approached the goalie now and nervously shot the puck. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see if it went in. She heard her bench roar and knew she had scored. Sure enough, she looked up to the score board. It read 1-1. She relaxed and returned to the bench.

It was Iceland's turn again. The player tried the triple deke, and Goldberg knew it was coming. He slid in front of the puck to stop it from going in. The Iceland bench got quiet.

Jo was up next for the Ducks. Jo didn't look a bit nervous. _How does she do it?_ Courtney pondered. Jo slid the puck against the ice. Courtney watched, nervous. Jo easily slid the puck past their goalie. The Ducks celebrated once again knowing that they were up 2-1. Courtney gave Jo a high-five as she sat back down.

Olaf Sanderson was up for Iceland. He didn't look nervous whatsoever. He gave the Ducks a smirk. He skated up to the puck, lying at center ice. He flew down the boards, wasting no time. Goldberg wasn't ready for his shot and it whizzed past him.

Dwayne eagerly jumped off the bench for the Ducks. "Whoa!" He whooped and hollered the stands. Courtney laughed at his confidence. He pushed the puck ahead of him and glided toward the goal. He played a backhanded deke. The Viking goalie stopped the puck before it even got close. Dwayne hung his head. It was still 2-2.

The team wasn't quite as confident as before. With another Iceland player up, the nerves started to set in. Goldberg dived to stop the puck, and almost caught it with his glove, but it wobbled out and into the goal. Now it 3-2.

Fulton reared back and set the puck flying. It was the shot that made him famous. It worked. The goalie was flown backwards as he tried to stop the puck.

"Yeah!" Fulton shouted. It was tied up at 3-3 now.

The last Iceland shooter was Gunnar Stahl. Goldberg looked shaky before he took his place in the goal.

"Goldberg," the coach called, "Use your glove."

"What?" He asked.

"He's going to use the triple deke. He's fancy. He'll go glove." Goldberg nodded, hoping Coach Bombay knew what he was talking about.

Gunnar tapped the puck, moving it forward. Goldberg shakily counted his dekes under his breath.

"One…two…three." Goldberg stuck out his glove. He felt it slide into his glove and he held onto it tight.

"Alright!" Averman shouted. "It's still 3-3! If Adam scores, we win!"

Courtney looked to Adam. "He's right. If you score, we win. Remember, just do your best," she whispered. She gave him a quick kiss before he stepped out onto the ice. He glanced over at the coach who nodded to him. He stared around the arena at all the people. He kicked the puck forward. The arena was still and quiet. Adam could hear his own breathing, multiplied by ten it seemed. His skated echoed through the stadium. As he glided towards the Iceland goalie, he decided to use the triple deke. He faked once, twice, three times. He held in his breath. He could tell the goalie was expecting a triple deke, so he faked a fourth time. The goalie had been caught off guard and he shot the puck in. He heard the swish of the net as the puck hit it.

The crowd erupted. Courtney tore off her helmet and gloves. She jumped off the bench and was the first one to reach Adam. She flung her arms around him. They seemed to be frozen in time. Courtney was living the dream that she'd had that night. Adam had just won the game, but all she could see in his eyes were the feelings he held for her. Courtney and Adam pressed their lips together not caring who saw them on television. If her mother wanted to yell at her for making out on TV, she could, because Courtney didn't care about anything else but Adam at the moment.

Charlie gently poked Adam on the shoulder. He held out the American flag. Adam took it and waved it around the arena. He grabbed Courtney's hand and they skated around the ice, the flag waving in midair. Adam handed the flag to Courtney. She stared at it for a moment, then passed it on to Jo.

"Thanks for everything," she whispered to her. Jo flashed her a slight smile. _Good enough for me_, Courtney thought.

Reporters were swarming the ice, trying to talk to each of the players. Courtney had never felt so excited in her life. She felt like nothing could ever go wrong again. She just smiled at all the reporters and politely answered their questions, enjoying the moment.


	40. Chapter 40

Adam and Courtney stepped out of the blue convertible that Asa had rented in Los Angeles. Courtney looked up at their room. All the lights were on, shining through the windows. Loud music was playing and could be heard a mile away. Courtney was almost afraid to know what was going on. The three of them ascended the stairs to the room. They stopped at Averman's room first. The door stood ajar. Courtney stared into the room at Averman doing the electric slide.

"I'm scarred for life," Courtney muttered to Adam.

"At least it's not our room," Adam laughed. He opened their door and gawked at the players in his room. Jo was dancing with Portman in front of the window. Asa stepped forward.

"Don't look, Courtney. Shield your eyes. It's too adultered!" he shouted. He gazed around the room and locked in on a girl. "Ooh, see ya." He strutted over and began talking to her.

Courtney's eyes grew wide at the sight of everyone in the room. Even people she'd never seen before were in her room. They were shuffling through her, and her roomates, belongings half drunk. Courtney grabbed her things back and shoved them under the bed. She angrily trampled over to Jo.

"What the heck is going here?" She yelled. "Why are all these people in my room doing who knows what?"

"Courtney, I'm dancing. Look up the definition of party," Jo said wildly.

"This is your idea of 'party'. Funny, it's not mine. You're all _drunk_! Go party somewhere else!"

"Not all of us are drunk." Jo reached into the cooler by the door. "Here, have a drink. It's only Rootbeer. Lighten up, we just won, didn't we?"

Courtney eyed the drink suspiciously. The can did say Rootbeer. _Just trust her, this once,_ Courtney thought. She popped open the can and drank it. Adam was being escorted over to Courtney by Asa and some girl she didn't recognize.

"Courtney, this is Kris. We're goin' out!" he shouted, happily.

"That's...nice," she commented. "What's wrong with you?" She asked Adam.

"She's Jo's cousin!" he screamed in disbelief. "My brother is going out with Jo's _cousin_!"

"Hey, Kris, how's my favorite cousin?" Jo said, throwing her arm around Kris.

"Not bad. Have you met Asa?" Kris replied, happily.

"Wait, Asa? Asa's Adam's brother. Courtney's Adam's girlfriend. I hate Courtney. You two aren't...going out or anything?" Jo asked suspiciously.

"Well, we kinda are. Is there a problem with that?"

"What!"

"Finally, you and I actually agree on something," Adam proclaimed, sarcastically.

"I gotta go," Jo said, walking off quickly, "I can't believe she's dating a preppy!" Jo shouted from the other side of the room.

Courtney and Adam avoided the party by locking themselves in Charlie room. They built puzzles with him and played card games until the music finally died down and they heard the party guests stomping down the hallways. Courtney and Adam returned to their messy room. Cans and wrappers were littered all over the floor.

"See ya, guys," Portman said, pushing past them, with Jo in his arms. Courtney shook her head desperately dreading the day to come.

"I'm not cleaning this up," She muttered to Adam.

"I'm not," he defended. "Get Connie. If she won't do it, tell her we'll tell everyone what she did when she was drunk."

Courtney and Adam threw all of the junk that was on their beds onto the floor. Courtney cleaned off Connie's bunk and started towards Dwayne when she noticed someone in it. _Oh, I really hope that's not Asa and Kris,_ she pleaded. She was relieved to see Dwayne fast asleep, like a little baby. She quickly shook him awake. He looked around, bewildered, at the trashed room.

"Did you sleep through that whole party?" Courtney asked in awe.

"What party?" he responded groggily.

"The party that-never mind. Go back to bed." He watched her curiously as she returned to her bunk. He laid back down and within minutes was already asleep again. Courtney waited until Dwayne was asleep and crawled into Adam's bed, beside him.

"Good night," she whispered. Adam only snored. She fell asleep the second her head hit Adam's pillow.


	41. Chapter 41

It was the day after the triumphant Iceland game. Courtney had started to pack up her things. They had one extra week in California. One week to celebrate their victory. One week free of school, free of games, free of everything but fun. Courtney sat outside on the balcony with Connie and Adam. The wind felt good on her face. The sun was covered behind the clouds for the moment. Averman ran onto the balcony and started pulling in chairs.

"What do you think you're doing?" Connie shrieked.

"There's a hurricane coming!" He shouted.

"What?" Adam asked, curiously.

"Yeah! A hurricane! Tomorrow! Category 3! Hurricane Bobby!"

"You don't know what you're talking about. It's beautriful out here," Courtney argued.

"You don't believe me! Go look at the weather channel!"

"What kind of idiot watches the weather channel?" Luis asked, walking out on to the balcony and taking a seat beside Connie.

Averman was silent for a moment. "Well...hmm!" He shouted at Luis. "I was only watching it because we were on a commercial!"

"We were on TV?" Connie asked, jumping up from her chair. Courtney and Adam followed her down the stairs and into the lounge on the very bottom floor. Everyone was seated around the television, anxiously.

"Los Angeles had a record high yesterday. Puzzling weather following such a day," the news anchor was saying. "We'll be right back with news of Hurricane Bobby after these commercials." The team inched closer to the screen. Dwayne pressed the volume up to it's max. The screen went black and popped back up with red, white, and blue. There was the team. Everyone standing in a circle around the Hendrix bear. They all smiled happily for the carmera.

"Hey y'all, that's us!" Dwayne shouted, excitedly. Courtney laughed along with the team.

"Your brother sure is stupid, Courtney," Jo said sarcastically.

"What?" Russ cried out. "Dwayne...and Courtney...related?" Jo sat quietly and calmly. "Did you know about this?"

"Yeah," she replied shrugging. "So, isn't it obvious? They do look a little alike and they have both done some stupid things."

"Hey!" Adam shouted. "You've done some stupid stuff before too! How dare you call her stupid?"

"WAIT! Let ,e get this straight. Courtney, you and Dwayne are related?" Averman demanded, in aw. "You said you weren't.

"I lied," Courtney lied.

"Who else are you related to? Me?" Goldberg asked.

"Goldberg, your last name is different than mine and you were bron somewhere different. Now you're just being an idiot."

"He's just being himself," Jo retorted.

"Let's just watch TV," Dwayne alleged, his face burning red.

The news anchor had returned to the television now. She had ugly dark roots, reachind down to her shoulders, and completely bleached blond hair down to her elbows. She was wearing bright red lipstick and wearing an outfit that made even Connie go into a fit about it.

"Hurricane Bobby will hit land tomorrow morning at approxiametly five am. Authorities are urging everyone to please stay indoors. Tornadoes may be affilliated with this storm. Please, if you plan on leaving, leave now. Do not wait until the storm hits. Evacuation routes can be obtained off of our website-"

Unbeknown to the team, Jo suddenly shut off the TV. Averman leaped into the air.

"It's alreadu hit! The storm's here! AAHHH!" Averman shouted.

Jo threw the remote at his head as hard as she could. He rubbed the spot softly.

"And now there's a ghost in here too!" he yelled, running up the stairs. The team could hear him screaming all the way up. The team started up the stairs to their rooms.

"Hey, uh, Dean, Russ, Fulton, I need you to help me put up boards over the window!" Jo proclaimed.

"You weren't worried before," Fulton replied.

"I'm not scared, but I don't feel like picking up glass and hearing Connie' complaints," Jo said, annoyed.

"Whatever. We're coming."

"I'll help," Courtney offered, trying to be nice.

"No," Jo snapped. "I've got these guys to help me."

"Okay, I was just trying to help you out. Never mind, I guess." Courtney and Adam walked up the stairs together, peering over their shoulders. "Something's going on," Courtney whispered.

"Wonder what she's gonna do now," Adam sighed.

One hour later, the entire team, with the exception of Portman, Jo, Russ, and Fulton, were stashing their things in plastic bags and storing them in the bottom floor bathroom. Connie spent the entire day cleaning up their dorm room from the party Jo had thrown the previous night.

"Why am I doing this?" Connie whined.

"Because we're moving stuff inside," Dwayne barked at her. "Just, hurry up."

By the time the dorm was clean and Hurricane proof, it was already five o'clock. The team met in the lounge, this time with Coach Bombay. Averman was fraking out of over the storm and bombarded Coach Bombay with a thousand questions.

"Are we gonna be okay in the dorms?" he questioned.

"You'll be absolutely fine. Don't worry. This dorm has been quite awhile. It's pretty strong," he answered.

"Well, where are you gonna be?" Jo asked.

"Well...I'll be at, ahem. Well, I'll be with a friend. Don't you worry."

"A friend?" Charlie demanded, "What friend is this?"

"Ms. MacKay," Coach Bombay mumbled under his breath.

"Ms. MacKay!" Charlie spat. "First my mom, then Marria, and now Ms. MacKay! Who's next?"

"I just think that I should stay with her. She gets jittery about storms and I want to keep her calm. That's all," Coach Bombay explained.

"Uh-huh, whatever," Charlie said, acting foolish.

"What will we do for food?" Ken asked, fearful.

"You have food here," Coach Bombay replied. "You'll all be fine." With that, he picked up his bag and left the dorm.

Everyone shrugged and gradually made their own dinner when they felt hungry. No one knew quite what to do. Courtney sat up in her room, with Adam beside her. They were sitting on her bed, playing Taboo with Dwayne, Ken, Charlie, and Guy. Dwayne was giving the clues to Ken.

"You eat it when it's hot. It melts really easily."

"Ice cream!" Ken finally shouted. The door squeaked ope and Jo popped her head into the room.

"Courtney, I need to talk to you," Jo said.

"About what?" Adam asked, quickly.

"You'll find out later."

Courtney slowly left the room and Jo pulled her into her room with Portman, Fulton, and Russ. Courtney stared at them in bewilderment.

"Courtney, we've decided you're trustworthy enough to keep our secret plan," Russ joked.

Courtney began backing up to the door. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what their secret was. "What is this about?" she asked apprehensively. She wished Adam were in the room with her too. She didn't feel comfortbale being in a room with the people on the team that had become known as troublemakers.

"Calm down. We're not here to beat you up. It's nothing bad. It's just a prank," Jo explained calmly.

"You're going to prank beating me up?" Courtney replied, confused.

"No, remember I told you I had to do something big when I got back?" Jo recalled.

"Yes," Courtney answered slowly. "You're not gonna like burn down the dorm or anything are you? 'Cause I don't wanna sleep out in a hurricane."

"Do you think we do?" Fulton laughed.

"I'll be blunt. We're gonna do a haunted house," Jo stated.

"A haunted houe? And may I ask how you plan on doing that?" Courtney laughed, not believeing that Jo would ever be able to put together something like that.

"Courtney I worked for my dad, who happens to be a mob boss. I know how to organize. When Bobby hits it's a for sure the power is gonna go. That's when we make our move," Jo explained the plan to Courtney.

"So what do you want me to do?" Courtney asked, willing to cooperate.

"We want you to stay with the "victems" and keep them away from us. Don't worry. We're going to ask Charlie, Jesse, and Adam to help us. So you won't be alone," Jo summerized. Courtney nodded in approval. _As long as I'm with Adam, I don't care_, Courtney thought.

"We'll tell you the rest once we know who is helping," Portman promised.

"And remember, Courtney, if I find that you say anything about this to anyone I'll have your head," Jo thretened.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to tell anybody. Unless I talk in my sleep and Connie's a blabber mouth. So maybe she won't hear. Just kidding," she joked as she saw Russ' face, "I won't tell. I promise!" She quickly escaped from the room and headed back to her own.

Courtney heard Russ calling out Jesse's name from the next room. He was yelling something about a CD. Courtney knew it was only a matter of time before they came and got Adam and Charlie. Sure enough, not five minutes later, Portman and Fulton emerged into the room.

"Hey, Charlie, we need your advice on a hockey move," Fulton stated. "You too, Adam." Adam looked slightly taken aback, but was honored to be asked. They headed out of the room on the heels of Fulton. Courtney knew their talk with Jo would take longer than her own. Adam would be stubborn and not want to do until they told him that she had agreed and he would reluctantly give in as well. It was already pretty late into the evening and she heard rain gently falling on the roof. She figured she may as well get used to being bored and fell asleep listening to Ken, Dwayne, and Guy continue their game of Taboo.


	42. Chapter 42

Courtney's alarm clock went off once again, this time at seven thirty. It wasn't the only time she'd been woken up over the course of the night. It had been thundering all night, shaking the building. Lightning had lit up their room multiple times. She was tired and just wanted to crawl back into bed, but she knew she couldn't. She had to meet Jo and figure out what the plans were for today. Adam crawled out of his bed too. They stumbled down the hallway towards Jo and Portman's room. They knocked softly on the door.

Adam turned to Courtney. "Oh, well. They're not up. Let's go back. I'm cold."

"Don't think so," Jo replied, opening the door. "Come in," she demanded. "You're late."

"You didn't tell us when to be here!" Courtney cried out in her defense.

"Well Russ and the rest of them have been here for over half an hour." Courtney felt out of place standing before them in her pajamas. She glanced at Adam and laughed at his hair. It stood up in all different directions. It looked as if someone had rubbed a balloon over his head. Courtney liked his hair in a moppy style. _ It makes him look cuter, _Courtney thought, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Stop! Both of you, you're distracting the single male population in this room. You guys want to make out and get married go ahead," Jo insisted jokingly but sent Adam and Courtney a glare none-the-less. "Now onto buisness. The storms gonna hit in the afternoon so at twenty-two hundred hours Charlie will go into Averman's room freakin' about some noises he's being hearing. Right on cue, Fulton will make the noise. Understand?" Everyone in the room nodded with the exception of Courtney who was daydreaming about Adam. Jo strode over to her and slapped her across the face.

"What?" she asked innocently. "I was listening, honest. Charlie heard Rats and Fulton's gonna hit around...ten-thirty?" Courtney said, puzzled by her own words. _Okay, so I wasn't listening_, she admitted to herself.

"Charlie's gonna go into Averman's room at ten-thirty and say he heard rattling noises and Fulton's gonna make the noise," Adam explained to her. "Don't hurt her," Adam stated, seeing the look on Jo's face. "She's just...tired."

"Right," Courtney agreed. "Go on."

"Last chance, Robertson. Now, as I was saying: everyone that is helping will be in Averman's room to help Charlie by encouraging the rumor. The rest of us, as in, Russ, Dean, me, and obviously Fulton will be making all the sounds and crap. You have all that Sleeping Beauty?" Jo asked Courtney angrily.

"Huh? Sorry, I wasn't listening," Courtney responded. Jo glared at her. "Just kidding, just kidding..." Courtney said hurriedly.

"Took you long enough. Now, we'll give you directions as it goes along. And sometimes you may have to just go along with it. All you'll really have to do is keep them from the top floors and as an added bonus, we'll be taking some one in the group randomly. Does everybody get what I'm saying?" Jo asked out of breath.

"Yes. Are we done, yet?" Courtney whined. "I'm hungry and I want to get some good food before Goldberg eats it all! Plus, I have to go to the bathroom!"

"Thanks for the unwanted info Courtney, you'll just have to suck it up. I hope everyone here has something black to wear. Courtney you probably don't have any so you can borrow some of mine. That's all for now," Jo finished.

Courtney was the first out the door and the first one to the food. She grabbed what she wanted and retreated to her room. Somehow, Dwayne had managed to sleep through everything once again. _First the party, now a hurricane, _Courtney thought. She asked Adam to wake her up at six-fifteen, but he refused.

"Why?" She asked, annoyed.

"Because I'm tired too," he answered. "Move over," he laughed after he set her alarm. He climbed in beside her and pulled her close to him.

Courtney couldn't remember falling asleep before she was woken up. At first, she thought maybe she was having a dream about a rock concert, but realized she was actually hearing the music. She and Adam both jumped as the music blared into their ears. Jo fell on top of them, laughing hysterically.

"Jo!" Courtney shouted. "That wasn't funny!"

"Yeah it was! You shoulda seen your face! I wish I had a camera!"

"Whatever. It is time or something? It can't be time, the alarm clock didn't go off," Adam whispered so no one would hear him.

"The power went off while you slept, so your clock didn't go off, duh! It's nine-thirty," Jo stated.

"Go away, Jo. I wanna go back to sleep!" Courtney cried, wearily.

"No, Courtney! You have stuff to do. You and Adam have to go talk to Averman about something don't you?" Jo hinted, annoyingly.

"No," Courtney replied simply.

"Yes, you idiot, you do!"

"Fine!" Courtney agreed, throwing back the covers. She hurriedly got dressed and followed Adam to Averman's room. Most of the team was gathered inside talking rapidly.

"But I heard it! I did! I heard something!" Charlie shouted, fearfully. The Ducks swapped glances, fear present in their eyes. As the conversation grew louder, Charlie made his way to Courtney and Adam.

"Everyone sancrinized their watches. We're starting a little early 'cause the power went out earlier than we thought. I'm about to tell them I heard something in the hallway, so get ready to go along with it," he instructed them. Courtney felt like she was a host on a haunted house tour.

"Guys! I think I just heard something out in the hallway!" He screamed.

"What was it?" Dwayne asked, eagerly.

"I don't know! It sounded like a screech! Oh, why did this have to happen now?" He looked as if tears were about to fall. _He's a good actor,_ Courtney thought approvingly.

Charlie threw open the door and curiously looked around the dark corner. "I don't see anything," he whispered.

"Charlie, don't go out there!" Courtney warned him. "You don't know what it might be!"

"I'll go with you, Charlie," Dwayne volunteered. He seemed more interested than afraid. The two boys stepped out into the hallway. Courtney heard Jo upstairs beginning to make noises. _It's started_, she thought. Once the rest of the team saw that Dwayne and Charlie appeared to be all right, they all followed the two boys. Charlie led them in the direction that he supposedly heard the noises.

"I think I heard it too!" Jesse exclaimed. He nervously glanced around him. "Why do you think all the sudden this is happening? Do you think it's because of the hurricane?"

"This is stupid! It's probably just the building settling," Ken explained calmly. Out of no where, a wolf howl descended on them. Courtney gave Ken a Yeah-right look. He smiled apologetically.

"Hold me!" Averman shrieked, jumping into Goldberg's arms. Goldberg stared at him and dropped him.

"What do we do?" Connie asked, grabbing Guy's hand.

"We have to stay calm and stay together. You know what always happens in horror movies! If we split up, we drop off like flies!" Dwayne stated.

"Wow," Courtney said in awe. "I never knew you watched horror movies."

"Uh, sometimes," he replied bashfully. Courtney felt a blast of cold air hit her. It was almost as if someone had passed by her.

"Did you guys feel that?" Courtney asked. Everyone turned to her. Behind them all, she could see someone clothed in all white running through the doorway. "I saw something! All white! They ran across there!" She screamed. She was beginning to think maybe this wasn't a joke at all.

Connie shrieked and Guy stumbled backwards. He jumped up and turned to his side.

"Charlie knocked me down! Where'd he go? He was right here! He-he was standing right there!" Guy pointed to the ground. No one seemed to be able to explain where he had gone.

"Droppin' off like flies," Dwayne sang.

"Okay, so keep together," Connie confirmed.

Luis moved in-between Connie and Courtney. "Ya hear that? We gotta stay close together!"

"Yeah, I don't think so," Adam said, pushing him away from Courtney. The team was in a state of panic. It got very quiet and more noises were heard.

"Maybe we should just go to sleep soon," Goldberg suggested. "We were sleeping before and this didn't happen."

"We also had power," Jesse said sarcastically. "I've seen a lot of horror movies too. If you go to sleep, it just makes you more vulnerable."

"He's right," Dwayne agreed. "We gotta keep movin'. Somebody's gotta be a look out, though. Connie, you and Guy stay and be a lookout for this hall. If ya see anything, holler."

"What?" Connie screamed. "No, please!"

"Hey, don't worry. You'll be with me!" Guy alleged soothingly.

Dwayne waved them off and headed for the stairs.

"How come the troublemakers aren't here?" Ken questioned, curiously, as they traveled down the stairs.

"Maybe that was what Charlie was trying to tell us," Jesse theorized. Courtney nodded, although she knew no one could see her. She groped out in the dark to find Adam's hand. He was still beside her. As the last member shut the door to the stairs, there was a high-pitched shriek. It was unmistakably Connie.

"CONNIE!" Guy was shouting. "CONNIE!" The team clambered back up the stairs, but saw nothing. There was no trace of them.

"Oh my gosh! We're all gonna die!" Averman sobbed.

"Shut up, Averman," Courtney snapped, testily. Jo's idea of a joke, wasn't that funny anymore. Everyone's nerves were being tested and Courtney didn't wanna be around when someone went over the edge.

"Hurry up!" Dwayne shouted up to them. He was already on the floor below them. No one had occupied the rooms in over five years. It smelled of mothballs and the halls were lined with dust. The floors creaked with every step they took. Another set of noises fell over them. Courtney didn't wanna be a part of the prank anymore. She didn't care whether it was real or not, she didn't like the feeling of being watched and being snatched at any moment. Another howl sent a chill up her spine. She reached out for Adam's hand again. She came in contact with nothing.

"Adam?" She whispered, thinking maybe he had fallen behind. "Adam?" She asked louder. "ADAM!" She screamed. She didn't know whether or not Adam had been taken as part of the joke or for real. Courtney hadn't been told who would be taken and when. "ADAM!" She screamed again. She felt another hand touch hers and grabbed it.

"Courtney, you have a boyfriend!" She heard Luis shout, but he didn't let go of it.

"Eww, gross!" She muttered. "Dwayne! Dwayne, where are you?" She felt her way to the front of the group until Dwayne grabbed her hands. "Adam's gone!" She sobbed. "He's gone! I'm scared! I don't wanna do this anymore! When is this gonna end?"

"I don't know. Just calm down, Courtney. Calm down, breath. It's okay. Just take my hand," Dwayne stated. _This is kind of strange. My younger brother is having to protect me_, Courtney thought.

"We have to keep moving!" Dwayne shouted. Courtney couldn't see the team behind them, but she felt their presence. They headed down the stairs again, but this time to the first floor.

"No! We can't go down there! No!" She disagreed, pulling him backward.

"Let's go, Courtney!" Jesse persuaded.

Courtney let herself be led down the stairs. She felt herself shaking. She tried to steady herself by saying it was all a joke. It wasn't real. She jumped when she saw a shadow cross the window. She thought it might just have been the plywood that Jo had put up, but when she looked again, she saw that it had fallen down. She cringed and wouldn't look anywhere but the floor. She kept close to Dwayne until Averman saw the figure too. Averman was screaming like a girl.

"Look!" Jesse screamed. He was pointing at the figure, silhouetted in the window by lightning. Everyone froze. Courtney's breath caught in her chest. Could this really be happening to her? She heard a small gasp of air and knew Dwayne was gone. Their ringleader was gone.

"Jesse, Dwayne's gone," she whispered, thinking that maybe if whatever it was didn't hear her it couldn't take anymore people. "What do we do now?" She asked.

"We need to get outside," Jesse demanded. "Even though we saw someone out there, it's our only chance. If we can get out of here, we can run for it. Whoever it was probably was scared away by the screaming...either that or attracted because of it," he said the last part very quietly. Courtney inhaled sharply. It was light enough that she could see Jesse's face. He didn't look as confident as he sounded.

Courtney was desperate not to feel like she was alone in a house with evil people who wanted to snatch her. She turned around to the remaining teammates. "Luis?" She pleaded. "Luis, can I hold your hand?"

"Are you cheating on Adam?" He asked curiously, but not disappointed.

"No, I'm just scared. Really scared," she whimpered. She wanted so bad to reveal Jo and her horrible plot, but she knew if she did it would only result in even more pain and horror than what she was going through at the moment. Luis stuck out his hand and took hers. She leaned her head on his shoulder, tears streaming down her face. He rubbed her back soothingly, actually being a gentleman. Courtney felt a new respect for him.

"Let's go!" Ken ordered. It was the first time Ken had shown leadership qualities. They followed him into the Kitchen.

Courtney nervously eyed the steak knives and forks hanging along the stove. Her muscles tightened. Courtney screamed when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Luis jumped and let go of her hand. Someone put their hand over Courtney's mouth to prevent her from screaming and shoved her behind the island. She watched the few members that were left searching through the dark room. She heard Jesse whisper something and they began to move on. Courtney prayed that whoever had her was Jo, Portman, Fulton, Russ, or anyone she knew.

"Shut up!" Portman growled into her ear. She relaxed a little and he removed his hand from her mouth. Before they could sneak out of the kitchen, Courtney heard Luis yelp. A hush fell over the four remaining people.

"We've got to get out of here!" Jesse requested, in a panic. Courtney could tell that even Jesse was beginning to believe a little. There was a loud banging on the door and another scream.

"Jesse and Ken are gone!" Averman whimpered. "We're alone! By ourselves! Just us!"

"That's what alone is! What do we do?" Goldberg questioned. They heard a loud groaning noise coming down the stairs. "Did you hear that?" He asked Averman. Averman nodded, solemnly. The noise was getting closer to them. They still stood, rooted on the spot. Closer and closer, louder and louder the noise became.

"RUN!" Averman shouted eventually. They bolted for the door. Goldberg grabbed the handle and pushed forward. The door wouldn't budge open.

"It won't open!" Goldberg yelled. "Oh this is it!"

"Pull moron!" Averman shouted.

Goldberg stopped for a moment. "Who you calling moron?"

"Pull!" Averman repeated himself. Goldberg tugged at the door but it still wouldn't open. The groaning was right behind them now. Averman grabbed hold of the door too and pulled it. The door flew open, throwing them backwards. They scrambled out of the door and into the rain. Suddenly, Goldberg and Averman were tackled from behind. Their screams echoed throughout the night.

"Don't kill me!" Goldberg cried. "I've got Twinkies inside!"

Averman was silent. "No," he finally managed to mutter. They both started to bawl like little babies. The two figures that had tackled them began to laugh.

"Is this some ritual? You laugh at your prey before you kill them?" Goldberg stuttered. Goldberg and Averman were lifted to their feet and led into the dorms. They were silent, but both were weeping. They never got a chance to see what their abductors looked like. They were led up to the third floor where their rooms resided. The two figures stopped at Averman's room.

"No! Not here! This is where it all started! Please, no!" Averman pleaded. The door swung open and several more figures emerged in front of him, most of which were wearing black. Four familiar figures stepped out to him. It was Jesse, Courtney, Adam, and Charlie. There faces were pale and their lips were a frosty blue. "They-they've _killed _you!" Goldberg looked close to fainting.

Russ and Fulton stepped in behind the four zombies. "Good, two more for supper," Fulton laughed, menacingly. Russ rubbed his hands together, licking his lips. "Those four weren't filling enough."

"Well we haven't eaten yet," Jo hissed. "There's are ours. The fat one's mine."

"Ah!" Goldberg cringed. Courtney tried desperately not to laugh. Less than a few minutes ago, she had been put through all that. Now, it was their turn.

Portman and Jo argued over whom was going to eat Goldberg. "Wait!" Fulton yelled. "I want the fat one!" He and Russ got in an argument too. Courtney couldn't take it any longer. She burst out laughing and Goldberg and Averman finally understood the joke. Jo and Portman revealed themselves as the 'abductors'. The team gave them dirty looks that could kill.

"Fine, I'll go untie everyone else in the other room!" Jo gave in.

Courtney happily took off the fake make-up and climbed back into bed. She fell asleep, listening to her teammates yell at Jo, Portman, Fulton, and Russ.


	43. Chapter 43

Courtney woke up earlier than most days. It was only seven-thirty and the rain was still pouring down. She heard the wind whisk through the trees. Leaves splattered their window. Courtney walked past the bathroom and held in air. No one could flush the toilets and the smell was starting to expand through the halls. She ate her breakfast and stared at the blank TV.

"Whatcha watchin'?" Dwayne asked, screwing up his face trying to see what she saw.

"Nothing. I'm just wondering what in the world we're gonna do around here during this stupid hurricane!" She exclaimed.

"Hmm...let's play charades. It's fun. We play it all the time back at home," Dwayne suggested. Courtney nodded, having nothing better to do.

Dwayne wrote up careers and movie titles on little slips of paper for people to act out. Courtney had convinced Adam, Guy, Averman, Charlie, Connie, Ken and Luis to play with them. Courtney didn't play, but watched each person make a fool of themselves. It was especially funny when Luis had to act out the movie title "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". They were locked up in the room playing charades for hours on end.

"I have a feeling we're going to be out of power for a very long time," Courtney told Adam.

"Maybe we can persuade the coach to get us a generator or something," Adam suggested. "Believe me, I'm a little tired of seeing Averman act out "Chicken Little". I would much rather be watching ESPN than him!"

Courtney wasn't tired anymore after all the sleep she had gotten over the day, but there was nothing else to do but sleep. She tried calling people on her cell phone, but even that got tiring. In the end, Courtney turned in when the sun went down. There was nothing else she could do without light, anyway.

The next morning was nothing new. The sky was still gray, but you could see a tint of blue behind the clouds. No one said much during breakfast or for the first hour or so of the day. Courtney was up in their room when she heard a car screech to a halt in front of the dorm. She eagerly stared out of the window to see Asa.

"Adam, your brother's here! Come on," she dragged him down the stairs and was at the door before Asa was. Courtney flung the door open and her smile faded. "You brought...Kris?" Courtney asked.

"Yeah," he replied, shoving past her. "Hey, Adam!" He greeted his brother. He looked around the room. "This dorm is dead. Where is everybody? I thought you guys would be partying or something? You're just sitting around doing- what's that smell?" He demanded, disgusted. Courtney smelled it too. _Great_, she thought, _Now that smell is everywhere!_

"Oh, that? It's Goldberg. And the toilet's," Courtney answered.

"Where's the rest of your team? Bring 'em all down here. I want 'em to meet Kris. We can talk and stuff," Asa explained. He obviously didn't know the history Jo had with them team and Courtney knew any relative of Jo's would not be accepted easily.

The team sat in a circle quietly, not knowing what to do. Courtney looked at the dull, bored faces surrounding her.

"Hey, guys, this is my brother Asa," Adam alleged nonchalantly. Most of them already knew him. They nodded, greeting him.

"Hey, guys!" Asa greeted them. "This is-"

"Kris!" Jo shouted, entering the room. "What's up?"

"You guys are related?" Averman grumbled.

"Yeah. Is there a problem with that?" Kris answered.

"Guys, be nice! Kris is cool! She's not what you think. I'm here and she's here. Just live with that! You'll see once you get to know her. She's cool!" Asa tried persuading them. He received a few shrugs and some mumbles. Others just glared at him, trying to burn a hole through him for bringing a relative of Jo into the dorm. They already had one Jo, they didn't need another. Asa sat down in the circle.

"I think they like you," he whispered to her, trying to brighten her spirits.

"Yeah, whatever. I'm bored. Let's do something."

"I got it!" Connie shouted, jumping up. "Let's play truth or dare!" She looked around, anxiously.

"Connie, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Who's gonna wanna play truth or dare?" Goldberg exclaimed, aggravated. It was obvious that everyone's nerves were being tested.

"Actually, we've got nothing better to do, so why not?" Courtney asked.

"Yeah," Jo agreed, "We're all here anyway. So let's just play." Adam and Portman nodded. Guy, Fulton, and Luis followed in example.

"Alright, but I get to dare first!" Russ cut in.

"Okay," Connie resolved. She retreated to her seat beside Guy.

"Aha!" Russ laughed mischievously. He rubbed his hands together, turning to Dwayne. "Howdy, cowboy. Hope you don't get cold too easy."

Dwayne's grin vanished. "W-what, why would y-you wanna know that?" he stuttered.

Russ stole a glance around at the team. They were waiting for an answer too. "Dwayne, I dare you to go out on the balcony and sing 'Mary Had a Little Lamb'."

"Well, geez that ain't so tough," Dwayne sighed, relieved.

"Come on, Russ. Can't you come up with a better dare than that?" Jo spat, disgusted.

"Oh, wait. Did I mention you'll only be wearing… nothing and crawling around on all four legs?"

"Y-y-you're just k-kiddin' right?" Dwayne questioned, his voice squeaking. The team cheered, obviously happy with the dare.

"No, man, I'm not kidding," Russ whispered, patting him on the back.

Dwayne slouched out of the room, whimpering like a puppy. The team sat quietly for a moment, the hastily pushed and shoved through the doors to witness Dwayne's embarrassment. He gave Courtney one last pleading stare as he began to remove his clothing. _Am I really going to let them do this to my brother?_ Courtney pondered. She thought for a moment. _Yeah, I think I am._ Dwayne tried to use his hands to cover himself as he stepped out onto the balcony.

The team laughed and pointed, capturing the attention of on-goers below. They gazed upward to see what the commotion was about. Dwayne looked down at them. He tried to shoo them away with his hands, but they still remained there.

"Start singing," Russ demanded. Dwayne got down on his knees.

"Mary had a little lamb-"

"LOUDER!" Courtney bellowed. She couldn't help it. She knew her brother was being humiliated, but it was to funny to pass up. This was the type of thing brothers and sisters did to each other. She wished she had a camera.

"MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB!" He screamed. After the third verse, Russ pulled him to his feet and said he was done. Dwayne was covered in water and leaves from fallen trees. Courtney helped him inside and silently laughed as he changed into warm, dry clothes.

The team sat back down in their circle and all looked at Connie for further directions.

"Who's next?" She asked the group.

"Jo, truth or dare?" Luis blurted out boldly.

"Truth," Jo replied smartly.

"What is it exactly that you and Portman do in your room?" Luis asked before his courage left him. Portman sent a death glare that rivaled Bombay's his way.

"Anything and everything," Jo smirked. Courtney started to cough and the word 'whore' could be heard.

"Who wants to go next?" Connie asked, trying to keep the game moving.

"I'll go. So Charlie, I have a dare for you," Asa smiled evilly.

"Okay what is it?" Charlie gulped.

"You have to grope every girl in this room," Asa grinned. All the girls, and their boyfriends, sent glares Asa's way.

"Well I…" Charlie stammered and then sighed in defeat. "I guess I have to." He stood up and walked towards Courtney.

Courtney sucked in a deep breath of air. It's only a game, she told herself. Yet somehow she knew that what was only a game to her would be something more to Charlie. Embarrassment flooded through her body and showed on her face as she met eyes with Adam. There was a pleading look in his eyes as if to say "don't do this, Courtney".

Charlie seemed to hesitate in front of her and Courtney looked away, as she did whenever she got a shot at the doctor. Charlie coughed, bringing Courtney's eyes back to him. Why was she so nervous? She shouldn't be. But it was evident, not just by the way his hands were shaking but his entire body, that he too was nervous too.

"Oh look he's nervous! He's never copped a feel!" Luis patronized him.

"Oh like you have either," Jo mocked him. Luis's smile fell into a frown.

Courtney felt Charlie's hand slide down over her shirt soon followed by another one. She wasn't sure exactly how long the moment lasted, but it felt like eternity. It was almost as if an electric charge had surged through her body the moment he had touched her and increased with the escalating pressure from his hands.

"Now keep going, Charlie," Asa urged him.

Charlie and Courtney locked eyes one last time as he slowly and reluctantly let go. Courtney looked at Adam and grimaced guiltily. Charlie looked around to the next closest girl, Connie. Charlie's face shone more brightly red than ever. Connie looked to Guy, who rolled his eyes and threw an angry look at Adam's brother who only shrugged it off and laughed.

Connie mumbled to herself as Charlie was touching her, "This is not cheating, this is not cheating." After Charlie removed his hands Guy slapped him across the back of his head.

Jo sighed and looked away as Charlie came over to sit in front of her. Portman was keeping his eyes on Charlie's hands and his watch as Charlie groped his girlfriend.

Kris looked over at Asa, "I hate you," she sighed jokingly.

"Asa, I hate you too," Charlie agreed.

"Oh really? I think you're enjoying this," Asa smiled. Charlie's blush deepened as he caught onto what Asa was talking about and shifted his pants. He knelt down and squeezed. The single guys in the room cheered and congratulated him for finishing the dare.

"So who thinks they can top me?" Asa beamed happily.

Courtney's hand shot up in the air, instantaneously. Something had been on Courtney's mind lately and she wanted to know the truth about it.

"Calm down, you're not in class anymore," Jo sneered. Courtney jumped up from her place and walked over to Jo.

"It's funny you're the one that would say something, seeing as how I'm pointing this truth at you," Courtney said angrily.

"Oh, I'm scared," Jo laughed. Courtney turned to Adam who seemed to be lost in her words.

"What happened that night?" Courtney barely whispered.

"What night?"

"You know what night. The night that Adam was brought to the trainer's."

"What about it?" Jo asked, standing up too. If anyone had been oblivious to the hatred between the two of them, it was visible now. Their noses were almost touching and their eyes were locked on one another.

"I think _you_ are the one who hurt him that night, aren't you? You and the Iceland team planned it, admit it, bitch!" Courtney accused her.

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Really? If you didn't do it, then why are you so defensive about it?" Courtney shouted as if she was on the other side of the room. Adam and Portman were both up now too.

"Why would I waste my time beating up your precious boyfriend?" Jo retorted. "He's not worth it!"

"Well, you think your boyfriend's worth it? Take a look again!" Suddenly Portman's face was covered in anger. Charlie shook his head, putting it in his hands.

"Courtney," Adam tried, soothingly.

"No, you're not gonna get involved in this. Right now, this is between Jo and me. Not you, not Portman. So why don't you just go sit down." Adam looked taken aback. He slowly returned to where he had been sitting before. "Admit it, Jo! You did it! You could've killed Adam that night! You did it!"

"You're insane! You have no idea what happened that night! If I had really wanted to hurt your stupid boyfriend that night, he wouldn't be here right now!" Portman stepped in between Jo and Courtney.

"Look, Courtney. You know Jo wouldn't have hurt Adam. Why can't you two just drop whatever it is that's going on between you!" Portman argued.

"I'm not gonna drop it until I know what happened to Adam!"

"You wanna know what happened? Do you, Courtney? Because I'm not sure your precious ears could take it!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you've never seen what happens at bars or what people look like after they've gotten into fights there!" Jo screamed at her. Courtney didn't know how to answer that. She'd been sheltered all of her life, not like Jo. She had never seen how any other person, not inside her own class, lived. "I didn't do that to Adam. An Iceland player did!"

"What?" Courtney whispered, taking a step back. She had been sure it was Jo.

"That's right, Courtney. You accused me, when it was really an Iceland player who spiked his drink and started a fight! You thought I was the one who did that to him when _I_ was the one who _saved_ his sorry butt! If I hadn't gotten in-between him and that player, you wouldn't have a boyfriend right now!"

Courtney couldn't move. She was rooted on the spot. Was it possible that Jo _had_ actually saved him? Courtney shook her head, trying to make herself believe that Jo was lying. Courtney couldn't see something like that happening in a bar. _But how would I know? _ Courtney thought, _She would. She's seen it happen before_. Courtney looked around at her team, embarrassed. She had just made a fool of herself in front of everyone. The only logical thing that came to her mind was to run from the room. So, she did.

She locked herself in the bathroom for what seemed like hours trying to figure everything out. Could Jo really be telling the truth? Courtney eventually came to the conclusion that yes, she was. But why was Jo so secretive about letting them know? Courtney sat, her back against the cold, hard wall until she heard a knock on the door. It was Goldberg.

"Go away," Courtney instructed him.

"I can't. I have to use the bathroom! Plus," he added lowering his voice, "I stashed some food in there!" Courtney sighed and reluctantly left the room. She had nowhere to go, but to return to the rest of the team. She quietly snuck in the room and sat down next to Adam while Averman was clucking around like a chicken.

"Finally decided to come back?" Guy asked, leaning towards her.

She shook her head. "Goldberg had to use the bathroom." Averman did one last circle of clucks and sat down. Everyone laughed.

"Now who?" Connie asked.

Fulton, who had been quiet the entire game, stood up immediately. "Luis, we all know you're a 'lady's man', but if you had to choose just one of the girls on the team who would it be?" The team suddenly got interested. Luis struggled, uncomfortably on the floor.

"Well, um, can't I just choose all?" He laughed, nervously. "If I choose Jo, Portman kills me, If I choose Connie, Guy hurts me, If I choose Courtney, Adam hurts me. I don't have very good options here." He thought for a moment. "I think I'm less afraid of Guy, so I'll choose Connie."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Guy asked, insulted. "I can hurt you just as much as them!"

"Yeah, right." Luis answered, snickering.

"I've got one for Luis too!" Jo stated before anyone else could say something. "When Goldberg comes back from the bathroom, I dare you to give him a hug, a kiss and say I love you." Luis' mouth dropped open.

"What?" He cried. "No, please."

"I dared you. You have to," Jo said, merciless. Luis sat, silently as he waited for Goldberg to return. Jo threw him a warning glance as Goldberg emerged through the doors. Luis gulped and stepped towards him.

"Goldberg!" He shouted with fake interest. He threw his arms around him and gave him a small peck on the cheek, wincing. Goldberg's eyes were wide. He looked uncomfortable and his arms sat limp against his side. "I love you, man." Luis whispered. Goldberg jerked himself free. "Hey, that's a little too much for me to take!" He jumped back from him. "I-I'm not like that. Just stay away from me!" Everyone burst out laughing. Goldberg didn't seem to understand.

"It was a dare, Goldberg," Jesse grinned. "And it was a great one! Oh, too bad we didn't have a video camera!"

Goldberg didn't laugh with everyone. He flushed a deep red and tried to hide behind Averman.

"Can we just get this game over with?" Russ complained. "This isn't exactly…fun."

"Okay, just a few more people," Connie compromised. "But, I want to choose who it is."

"Me! I wanna go next!" Ken shouted jumping up and down. Connie nodded, aggravated. The rest of the team agreed. Ken stared at Goldberg, still trying to become invisible behind Averman. "Goldberg, what's your scariest moment?"

Goldberg turned to see if anyone was behind him. "Oh, you're talking to me?" He inquired, confused. "The other night when Jo almost ate me," Goldberg whined. Kris and Asa sent Jo quizzical looks.

"What? It was only a haunted house prank," Jo assured. Courtney rolled her eyes. _She calls it a prank, but I don't think anyone else that had to go through it would see the humor,_ Courtney thought bitterly.

"Can we just get to the next person, please?" Guy asked, aggravated.

"I've got one!" Averman volunteered. "Hey Portman, somebody told me you and Jo aren't really related. Is it true?" Even Goldberg dropped his head at the question.

"You idiot. Do you know how long ago everybody found out? No, we're not related!" Portman proclaimed.

"Then why do you share a room?" He asked, still confused.

"Courtney and Adam share a room," Russ stepped in, helpfully. Averman still looked lost. He opened his mouth to speak again. But Goldberg thrust his hand over his mouth.

"One more person," Connie urged, tiredly.

"I wanna go. I have a good one!" Luis announced, suddenly. Connie nodded, reluctantly. "Yes!" Luis celebrated. "Okay, this is for the _whole_ team! Oh, and I guess Asa and Kris," he added hurriedly. "We're gonna play a game. The bubble gum game!"

"Yeah!" Russ agreed. He clearly liked the idea. Averman looked around anxiously.

"What's that?" He asked. "Is it any fun?"

"Ah, yeah, man," Russ responded. "Come on, let's play."

"But I don't know how to play," Averman insisted. "Someone's gotta explain it! I'm not the only one who doesn't know who to play, right?" Everyone looked at him.

"I think you're the only one who doesn't know how to play," Asa told him, sympathetically. "This is what you do. Someone will start with a piece of bubble gum. They'll chew it a little, and then the person sitting next to them will have to get it out of their mouth by kissing them. Then you just keep it going until the last person."

"Well, how would you know?" Kris proclaimed, jokingly.

"I've played this game a lot."

"How many times?"

"Well, a lot," he mumbled.

"Okay," Kris shrugged.

"Oh, so that's how you play," Averman sighed, smiling. "Wait, there's only four girls. We have more boys than girls. That means that some guys will have to…kiss other guys!" He discovered. There was a sudden rush to get a seat next to each of the girls.

Luis groaned as he was stuck next to Averman and Russ. "Why can't I be by one of the girls?" He whined.

"Sorry, too slow," Charlie said, happily. He was situated between two girls: Connie and Courtney. He was the only boy not sitting next to another boy.

"Let's just get this going." Guy established, miserably. He was stuck between Ken and Goldberg.

"How did you not get next to Connie?" Courtney questioned, bewildered. He moaned and shrugged.

"Okay, here's the piece of bubble gum," Luis yelled over everyone. "You have to blow at least one bubble before transferring it to the person next to you." Luis blew a huge bubble and turned to Averman, who had never played the game. The piece of gum dropped out of his mouth. Averman caught it in his hand. He stuck it back in his mouth and blew a small bubble.

Courtney had no interest in watching the other members of her team playing the game. She was staring at the flashlight, casting a glow on the wall. She saw it flicker off and Jo, who was closest to it, reached out to turn it back on. Courtney felt a slight chill of air and almost thought she heard one of the noises she had the night of the haunted house. She knew it was just her imagination. She was hearing things just to entertain herself. Charlie jabbed her in the side.

"Ow," she mumbled. She turned her attention back to the game. Asa had the gum now. He transferred the gum to Adam. Courtney waited patiently as Adam blew a bubble and reached towards her. His lips touched hers as she felt the sticky texture of the bubble gum. She blew a small bubble and looked to Charlie. Courtney felt odd having to kiss Charlie. Not because everyone was watching, but because of what had happened last time they had kissed.

Charlie didn't look nervous at all. They both closed their eyes as their lips met. Courtney didn't want to take her lips from his. Charlie wasn't letting go either. He already had the gum, but his hands were slowly slipping to Courtney's back. Maybe there was something more to Courtney's feelings about him than she thought. Courtney felt the eyes of the team on her and Charlie.

"Okay, come on," Dwayne pressured them, apprehensively. Courtney let go and wouldn't look at anyone. Charlie kept his eyes on the floor. Adam was giving Courtney a strange look. She smiled, apologetically.

"The gum got stuck," she lied.

"See that's what they were doing in her room!" Jo laughed.

"That's what friends do," Luis confirmed.

"No, that's not what friends do," Asa argued. "At least not when one of those friends has a boyfriend."

"Yeah, Asa, follow your own advice." Kris proclaimed, amusingly.

Courtney didn't watch anyone else play the game. She only wanted it to end and hated Luis for suggesting it. Courtney didn't wait for the last person to blow a bubble before escaping to her room.

She slammed the door shut and locked it. She wasn't sure what had just happened. Could she really have feelings for Charlie after all? There was a sharp knock on the door. Courtney looked through the peephole. It was Charlie. She let him in.

"Look, I'm sorry. It was just something I had to get off my chest," Charlie explained.

"Why are you sorry? I went along with you. Ugh, I'm so _confused_! Maybe it was just something I had to get off my chest too. I'll admit that I have had a few feelings for you, but I dunno… I think I just wanted to get rid of them, in a sense. Do you understand?"

"Yeah. That's the same for me. I was just trying to get rid of it, no offense to you, Courtney. But like you said at your house, you have Adam. I just wanted to get rid of those feelings because I knew it could never happen. I just hope it didn't mess up things with you and Adam."

"Yeah, I hope so too. Sometimes, I just-I do things without thinking about how they're going to affect someone else," Courtney replied. They both looked up as the door squeaked open and Adam entered, staring at them.

"It was just something you had to get out of your system?" He asked, confirming it.

Courtney nodded. "I'm sorry, Adam," she stated, embracing him.

"It's okay," he answered, hugging her tightly. Charlie nodded to Adam and left the room. "It's alright," Adam assured her, as he felt Courtney's warm tears fall onto his shoulder. "Everything's gonna be fine."


	44. Chapter 44

Courtney woke up the next morning and it finally dawned on her: this was their last week in Los Angeles. She remember having to beg her mother, multiple times to allow her to even go to California. That seemed like so long ago

The sun was shinning brightly through the open window. Because Hurricane Bobby had knocked out their power, they also had no air-conditioning. It felt like their room was in the hundreds. A blast of cold air made her shudder. She crossed to the window, noticing that the buildings across the streets had lights_. Must have generators, _she thought jealously.

It was clear that no one was awake yet. She could even hear Averman snoring in the room next to them. She banged on the wall where she knew his headboard was. The noise instantly halted.

"Peace and quiet," Courtney sighed, happily. She didn't really know what to do. No one was awake to talk to, so she ended up opening her history book and began re-reading through the new material. Even if they weren't being tutored anymore, Courtney figured she'd have to know the information for the next year of school.

Courtney hadn't missed any of her teachers. She was glad that Ms. MacKay rather than any of the teachers she had back in Minnesota had tutored her. Now that she thought of it, she hadn't really missed any of her friends, either_. Guess I got caught up in making so many new friends so fast_, she thought.

Courtney heard Adam stir. She glanced over at him out of the corner of his eye. He was sitting up, yawning.

"Hey," he yawned, crossing over to the window. He did a double take. "Coach Bombay's out there with a power truck!" Adam stated unbelievably. He and Courtney tore down the stairs of the dorm as quietly as they could.

"Just leave it off one more day," Bombay was saying to the worker dressed in dark coveralls.

"What?" Courtney questioned. Coach Bombay froze. He slowly turned to them with a guilty face.

"Keep the _power_ off?" Adam exclaimed. The power worker nodded. Courtney was stunned_. I wonder how many days we've actually had power?_ She wondered. "We've had power? You put us through all that?" Adam demanded astonished.

"Come on, it was only for a day. Well, today would've been two. It wouldn't kill you. I went by the other night and you guys were all downstairs. That's what you need: unity," Coach Bombay proposed.

"That was you in that window?" Courtney expressed shaking her finger at him. She remembered the night of the 'Haunted House'. The figure she had seen in the window was him.

"Was it really that bad?" He asked, sincerely.

"Believe me, you wouldn't have wanted to be there," Adam answered, shaking his head.

"Your power will be restored by noon," said the power man, who had been listening to the entire conversation. He returned to his truck and picked up a walkie-talkie.

"Don't tell the guys I kept you power off, okay?" This can be our secret," Coach Bombay whispered, hurrying to his car.

"Where are you going?" Courtney inquired. "Why the rush?

"I've got something I have to do. I've got to get going. Don't want to be late."

Courtney and Adam watched as he sped off in his car around all of the fallen limbs. Courtney shrugged and returned to their room to change. She periodically checked the television to see if they had power yet. However, the power worker had been right. The power wasn't back up again until two in the afternoon. Courtney was the first to the TV. Her eyes were glued to the television set along with Charlie, Averman, and Goldberg until seven-thirty.

"Let's watch a movie," Jo eventually suggested.

Connie crossed to the TV and entered a DVD into the drive. Courtney threw her a dirty glare.

"You'll like it, I promise," Connie stated.

The team gathered around in armchairs. Adam slid next to Courtney on the couch. The title music echoed through the room. Courtney immediately connected it with "October Sky", one of her favorite movies. It was also a sad movie. Surprisingly, when everyone saw what movie it was no one left. Connie had chosen a movie that they all agreed on. Courtney had t give her props on that.

About halfway into the movie, most of her teammates got hungry and decided to make popcorn. She, Jo, Jesse, and Ken were the only ones occupying the chairs. All four of them had their eyes locked to the screen. Courtney couldn't fight her tears. The music combined with the plot was too much for her to take. She tried to wipe her silent tears from her face without anyone noticing, but stopped when she saw that Jo was also crying. Courtney was shocked. She heard another small sniffle and noticed even Ken and Jesse looked teary.

"What'd you do?" Adam cried, suddenly, dropping the bowl of popcorn. All eyes turned to him. Portman was behind him and had the same reaction.

"What'd you do to make her cry?" Portman stormed.

"Nothin' man. It's the movie," Jesse said, his voice cracking.

"Yeah, Adam," Courtney confirmed, "You guys chose the perfect time to leave."

"Sorry," he mumbled, trying to salvage the popcron. He headed to the trash can, but Goldberg quickly snatched the bowl from him.,

"I'll eat it, just don't throw it away," he proposed.

"Uh, yeah, whatever," Adam replied, sitting down next to a still sobbing Courtney. She leaned her head on his shoulder and situated her hands around his stomach.

Courtney drifted off to sleep, waking up after the movie had ended. A few others were asleep as Connie shifted through the stack of DVD's.

"What are the chances that you can possibly choose two movies in a row that we all agree on?" Russ laughed, challenging her. She smirked at him and threw a DVD into the slot.

Courtney leaned back against the soft, cloth sofa, expecting a chick flick to pop up onto the screen. Courtney couldn't believe it when she saw the title "The Perfect Score. _Connie's on a role! _Courtney thought.

Courtney shook Adam vigorously, knowing he would want to see the movie. He sat up, yawning.

"Turn off the light. There's a glare," Charlie demanded. Goldberg, who was closest to the switch, grumbled as he reached to it. Everyone seemed to awake as the movie started. The only noise, other than the movie, was the microwave popping more and more popcorn. The team had gone from crying during the first movie, to laughing nonstop during the second.

"They should've chosen me for this movie," Ken claimed, proudly. Courtney tried to get a mental picture of him in a movie. Nothing came to mind.

"Um…yeah," Courtney replied, positively.

"Liar," Charlie accused in a whisper.

Courtney turned to him. "So, it's a confidence booster."

"Liar," Charlie repeated. Courtney rolled her eyes.

By the end of the movie, Courtney just wanted to crash onto her bed. Russ and Dwayne had already retired to their rooms. Guy and Jesse were heading up the stairs too.

"Let's watch something else!" Connie exclaimed, wide-awake.

"You have too much energy," Fulton complained. "Too much energy like a cheerleader."

Connie was quiet for a moment, then smiled. "Thanks!"

"If you expect me to sit here and watch another movie, it's gonna have to be something I would give anything to see," Courtney mumbled, drowsily. Adam was sleep again and so was Charlie. The three of them took up the entire couch. Adam and Charlie had spread out making themselves comfortable on the sofa. Both boys had their heads laid on Courtney's lap.

"Doesn't look like you're going anywhere," Jo said, taking reference to the boys.

Courtney ignored her comment as the third movie popped up. It turned out not to be a movie at all. It was different seasons of the show "Friends". Courtney let out an exasperated sigh and sank lower on the couch. Grabbing a pillow and stuffing it behind her head, she fell asleep.


	45. Chapter 45

Courtney had a dream that she was being shaken roughly and slapped. She peeped through her eyelids and discovered that she was being shaken and slapped. It was Coach Bombay. Courtney stared out the window. There was no sunlight shining through.

"Get up! We're going camping! It's sort if like our last group time," Coach Bombay proclaimed.

"It's too early for this," Courtney whined.

"It'll be fun," Adam yawned, as he sat up. Courtney glared at him, pushing a pillow over his face. "What? It will be fun."

Courtney shook her head in disagreement, lying down in the open space. Charlie was still asleep on the other end. _There's no way I'm going camping_, Courtney though bitterly.

"Courtney, it'll be fun. Think about it. Do you know what it feels like to see the sunrise on the horizon surrounded by nature? All the trees and animals." Adam attempted to persuade her.

"Fine, you go and take a picture. Then, I'll know," she grumbled. Averman laughed, but quickly got quiet with a glance from Adam.

"Courtney, I'm going and I want you to come too."

Courtney resisted his please. She was tired and didn't feel like building tents, fishing, and whatever else anyone would think of. Adam continued to beg her, shaking her shoulder. If I just tell him yes, maybe he'll let me sleep.

"Fine!" She shouted, angrily, throwing her hands into the air. Adam got quiet. "Thank you," she breathed, positioning her head next to Charlie's. She could hear her teammates going up and down the stairs, noisily_. Why don't they get sleep while they can? _Courtney pondered.

Dwayne slapped her on the back as he hiked to the door with a bag over his shoulder. "Let's go!" He exclaimed.

"What?" Courtney mumbled. "We're leaving now? It's like five am!"

"Yeah, I know. This is late for the farm," Dwayne responded in awe. Courtney shook him off and mustered enough strength to sit up. Connie jumped onto the couch beside her. She handed Courtney a plastic Food Lion bag.

"It's your clothes and stuff for the trip," Connie announced. "Hope you don't mind, but I got them out of your suitcase for you."

Courtney shook her head. "I don't mind. Who's got his stuff?" She asked, pointing a finger at Charlie.

"Guy's got it. Let's wake him up." Connie got down on the floor in front of Charlie. She whispered his name. He didn't move. She smiled, then screamed his name. He jumped, startled.

"Such a sleepy head," she told him in a baby voice. He stared at her in confusion.

"We're going campin', Charlie!" Coach Bombay informed him. Charlie gazed at the clock, rubbing his head.

"Now?" Was all he could say. Courtney nodded and pulled him up. She had to go through the clothes that Connie had chosen to make sure she had gotten clothes that Courtney would actually wear.

Coach Bombay had already bought sleeping bags and tents for everyone. They were packed onto the back of the bus with everyone's stuff.

The team climbed onto the bus at five o' five. Courtney was quick to grab a seat to herself, along with Charlie's pillow. She hadn't thought to bring her own. Charlie didn't seem to mind. He just took Averman's pillow. Courtney spread out along the two seats. It was a fairly smooth bus ride, allowing her sleep. The only thing she heard during the ride to their campsite was Dwayne attempting to sing "The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round". Ken and Goldberg joined in, only making it worse.

They arrived at an open space deep in the forest. It was bare and not what you would call beautiful. The grass all around was dead and brown. There was a small lake not far from where they were parked that was dark brown and covered in algae.

Coach Bombay began pitching the tents. Courtney stole a glance at her watch. It was only five forty. After the coach had put up three tents, she took out one of the sleeping bags and claimed a tent for her own. She didn't even check to see if anyone else occupied the tent. She laid down the sleeping bag and climbed in. It was warm and soft. She sighed happily and turned over. She opened her eyes to look around the tent, instead she and Charlie locked eyes.

Courtney held in a scream, but leaped out of her sleeping bag. Her heart was racing. She tried to calm herself.

"I'm sorry, Charlie," she apologized. "I should've checked to made sure no one was in here."

"It's okay," he accepted, obviously not thinking much of the incident.

"What's going on in here?" Jo inquired, tearing open the zipper. Courtney gasped, fearfully. How was it that Jo always seemed to be around at the worse times?

"Jo, it's nothing-"

"Courtney!" Jo exclaimed. "I knew it!"

"Jo, nothing happened," Charlie defended Courtney.

"You were sleeping with Charlie!"

"When you say it like that it sounds so bad," Courtney mumbled to herself.

"Adam's in the tent right next to us. I could go tell him right now," Jo threatened.

"No!" Courtney screamed. "Please! I swear this has nothing to do with what happened in my room or during the game the other night!"

"C'mon Jo, it was just a mistake," Charlie calmly explained.

"Jo, have a heart," Courtney panted. Courtney though Jo would really tell Adam and make something out of nothing. She was afraid of how he would react after what had just happened. Courtney felt her face flush and felt herself growing angrier and angrier. She wasn't about to let Jo ruin her relationship with Adam.

"If you so much as say a word-"

"Hey, guys," Connie interrupted Courtney. "Whatcha doing in here?" Connie couldn't have chosen a worse time.

"Nothing. Just talking," Charlie forced an answer. He pushed Connie and Courtney out of the tent. "Why don't you go get wood for a fire?" He suggested.

"But I want to talk to-"

"You will. Just go!" He insisted.

Courtney reluctantly turned her back to Jo and Charlie and walked off with Connie.

"So you and Guy are fine?" Courtney questioned, attempting a conversation.

"Better than ever," Connie grinned. _Why are things so good for her and so rotten for me? _Courtney envied. Courtney felt her cell phone vibrating in her pocket.

"Saved by the phone," she whispered to herself. Courtney studied the number, unable to identify it.

"Hello?" She asked, apprehensively.

"Good morning, this is Abigail Whitman. Am I speaking with Courtney Robertson?" The woman on the other end asked, sounding very professional.

"Yes, ma'am."

"I just need to confirm that you know a Gordon Bombay?" She inquired quickly.

"Yes," Courtney answered unsteadily.

There was a pause as Courtney heard the scribbling of writing.

"And a Dwayne Robertson?"

"Um, yes."

"Okay, thank you for your time." Courtney continued to stare at the phone after the woman had hung up. _What the hell was she talking about?_ Courtney pondered.

"Ya know, Connie, I have to go talk to the coach. I'll see you later," Courtney announced. Connie watched helplessly as Courtney stormed away from her.

"Coach Bombay?" Courtney called out through the woods. The ground was slippery beneath her feet, making it difficult to run.

"Coach Bombay!" Courtney shouted as she spotted him. He quickly turned to face her.

"I'll have to call you back," he mumbled into his cell phone. Courtney waited impatiently.

"Okay, what can I do for you?" He finally asked.

"Who is Abigail Whitman?" she blurted out. Bombay looked taken aback.

"She's a lawyer. Why do you ask?" He answered slowly, a wrinkle forming between his eye brows.

"Why did I just get a phone call from a lawyer?" Courtney asked curiously.

There was an awkward silence. Coach Bombay didn't answer.

"And why did she ask me about Dwayne?"

"What did she ask you? She's not supposed to contact you!" Coach Bombay proclaimed angrily. "Oh, I'll have her for that one!"

"So you do know what's going on!" Courtney accused, pointing a shaking finger at him.

"Yes," he sighed exasperated. "Now, what did she ask you?"

"She only asked me if I knew him. Now, you tell me why I got that call...and so early?"

"She knew we were camping today so she called early I guess. Abigail Whitman is working on the case to see if Dwayne can come and live with you," he explained.

"Are you serious?" Courtney squealed. She threw her arms around his necks joyously. "He's gonna live with me? Is that what you were so quiet about that day? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to get over excited because it's not certain, yet. Don't say anything to Dwayne."

Courtney nodded, obediently. She returned to the campsite quietly, hiding the knowledge she held. Her heart skipped when she saw Dwayne explaining to Connie about how to properly start a campfire. She wanted to rush towards him and blurt out everything she'd heard, but she bit her tongue and kept walking.

Charlie greeted her in front of a maroon colored tent.

"This is your tent. You share it with Jo and Connie. I already moved your sleeping bag in there."

"Jo? Three people? That won't work. No way am I staying in a tent with Jo!" Courtney whined.

Charlie shrugged, "It's just one night. Can't you deal with that, Courtney?"

Courtney wasn't sure she could stand even a few minutes in the same room with Jo, much less a whole day and night.

"You deal with it and I gotta go fishing with Averman. He thinks he can actually catch something!" He chuckled.

"I'll go with you," Courtney stated after the thought of having to confront Jo.

Coach Bombay pulled Portman away

Averman was dressed in Khaki from his hat to his shoes. He held a tall wooden fishing rod in his hand.

"Very professional," Courtney snickered. Averman smiled as a huge mob of bumblebees rained down on him.

"OW, OH, OUCH, EEK," Averman squealed, tripping over the tackle box and rolling down into the river. Charlie rushed down to help him up as Courtney continued to laugh.

"Averman, how do you manage to do these things?" Charlie demanded.

"I don't know I-ARRGGHH!" He shrieked, grabbing Charlie's hand. Jo tackled them into the murky water.

"JO!" Courtney cried, running down into the water. "That wasn't funny!" Courtney stuck her arm out for Charlie and Averman who were covered in Algae.

"Oh, that wasn't funny," Jo mocked and bumped Courtney into the water too. "But that was!"

The sound of barging feet coming towards them and not long after, the team crested the hill.

"What are y'all doin'? Are you swimming?" Dwayne asked.

"Portman, Adam, I thought you cared about your girlfriends? You just let them jump right _in_ to that toxic waste dump?" Russ laughed.

"I'm telling the Coach!" Luis shouted, sprinting towards the tents. "COACH!" He screamed. "COACH!" Coach Bombay appeared outside of his tent with Ms. MacKay by his side. She was tugging at her shirt and wiping her face. "Coach-what were you doing?" Luis questioned nosily.

"Uh…business. It doesn't concern you. What's the problem?" He stuttered.

"They're in the lake! It's all dirty and icky," He cringed. "Get them out!" Coach Bombay started down to the lake against his will. His muscles tensed as he approached the lake and the team scattered frightfully.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Coach Bombay bellowed so loudly Courtney was sure that the whole United Stated could hear him. "Do you know _why_ you're not supposed to go into that lake? Do you know _why_ no one camps out here anymore? It's because that lake has fatal chemicals in it!"

"No one told us that!" Charlie commented. "Do you think we'd be in here right now if we knew it was gonna kill us?"

"Why are you in there?" Coach Bombay demanded quietly.

"Oh, we're just out for a nice little swim," Courtney responded courteously. The coach's mouth dropped open. "We were pushed! What d'you think?!"

"Who pushed you?"

"HER!" Averman, Courtney, and Charlie said in unison, pointing at Jo.

"What?" Jo asked innocently. "I never thought it was going to kill him." Jo walked over to Averman and gave him a big hug. "I'm sorry, Averman. I didn't mean to kill you, I had no idea." Jo released him from her hug and shoved Averman back into the water.

"Everybody get out of the water!" Coach Bombay ordered. "All you of are refined to your tents until further notice. Now, I have business to attend to. So, don't disturb me."

"What kind of business?" Charlie asked sincerely. Luis turned to him.

"Believe me, my friend, you do not wanna know that," He assured Charlie.

"I can't believe we're stuck in our tents!" Courtney yelled aggravated. "All day with Jo! It's pure terror! What did I do to deserve this torture?"

"Hey, Courtney, I'm in the tent right next to you. I can talk to you through a hole if you make one in your tent," Adam suggested.

"I guess so," Courtney shrugged, feeling slightly better about her punishment. Connie was already sitting with her back up against the canvas reading a magazine. "Jo, do you have a knife?" Courtney asked.

Jo looked up at her surprisingly. "Courtney I know you don't want to be in here with me but I didn't think you hated me enough to commit suicide."

"What do you want a knife for?" Connie requested a hint of fear in her voice. "What do you plan on doing?"

"Just give me the knife, will you?" Courtney replied, losing patience.

"Just tell me what you want it for! I don't like you enough to want you to die," Jo shouted slightly scared.

"Geez, I just want to cut a hole in the tent so that I can talk to Adam because he's right beside us! I'm not suicidal for crying out loud!"

"Well why didn't you say so in the first place," Jo sighed. She tossed Courtney the knife. "Here. Just be careful, I just sharpened it."

"I know how to use a knife-" The knife was quickly taken from Courtney's hand. She glanced over her shoulder at Coach Bombay.

"Okay, I'm definitely going to have to move you two…"

"Coach, she just wanted to cut a hole in the side so that she could talk to Adam. No big," Connie commented.

"Cut a _hole_ in my tent? Why don't you just talk loudly?"

"I dunno…" Courtney mumbled. "I didn't think about that."

Coach Bombay nodded, "Yep, you definitely didn't think."

"FREEZE! This is Police Officer Smith! You're all under arrest for trespassing and you, sir, are under arrest for possession of a deadly weapon!"

"But-but, it's not mine!" He shouted, dropping it. "It's hers!" He pointed directly at Jo. For the first time, the Police Officer's eyes shifted towards Jo.

"YOU!" He shouted. "I remember you! Climbing out the window and that smart-ass attitude of yours! Eluding police, I could go on forever with what you did!"

"Oh yeah I remember you now! You're the fat one who ordered your assistant around. Hey where is he? Just think if you could go on forever how do you think the BIB's in Queens feel," Jo replied sarcastically.

"Jo, I really don't think this is the time, or the place, to be talking like that," Courtney muttered under her breath.

"Aw c'mon police officers love me. Right, Smitty?" Jo asked jokingly.

"Officer, what do you mean trespassing? We aren't trespassing," Coach Bombay insisted.

"Yes, sir. This area has been off-limits for years. I don't know who told you about this place, but there were trespassing signs all over this area."

"I haven't seen any, sir,"

"Coach," Ken said, walking up behind him, "What's this sign mean?" Ken was holding up a No Trespassing sign covered in dirt. Coach Bombay laughed nervously.

"Ken, where did you find that?" he asked in barely a whisper.

"It was over in the woods," Ken answered him. Coach Bombay stroked his forehead thoughtfully.

"I'm very sorry, Officer. I didn't know this was off limits. We'll be out of here by tonight."

"Jo, what did you do now?" Jesse sighed.

"Hey! For once it's not me," Jo defended. She pointed to Bombay. "Believe it or not it's him."

"Hey, you remember every time you point a finger at someone. You're pointing four more back at yourself!" Coach Bombay said heatedly.

"Sir, she's right. You're the one who's going to be undergoing a criminal background search," Officer Smith commented.

"WHAT? That's preposterous! I didn't even know we were trespassing!"

"Ignorance is no excuse! You'll have to pay a fee for now and if anything else like this comes up on your record, you could be going to jail."

"How much is the fee?" Bombay requested quietly.

"Fine hundred dollars," Officer Smith informed him.

"Five hundred? FIVE hundred? You only get fifty for not wearing a seatbelt! I mean, not that I would know that or anything but, oh, here's your money," Coach Bombay said, pulling out a check. He filled it out and handed it to the officer. "We'll be gone tomorrow morning."

"You said tonight," the Police Officer accused.

"I meant tomorrow, very early." Officer Smith grunted as he walked away from the campsite.

"Wow, Jo really didn't do anything!" Goldberg said in awe. Jo glared evilly at him and walked back into the tent.

At three o'clock Coach Bombay finally allowed the team to venture somewhere other than their own tents for lunch.

"Fresh air!" Charlie shouted, throwing his hands up.

"Yeah, no kidding. I thought I was going to suffocate with Connie spraying her perfume everywhere," Jo complained.

"You're not the only one who had to sit there and smell it. I wish I'd had that hole in the tent. Just talk loudly," Courtney mocked the coach.

Instead of heading off to the food that Coach Bombay was supplying, Courtney sat by the toxic river with Adam.

"It smells better than Connie's perfume," Courtney giggled. It was the first sincere laugh since they'd left the dorm that morning. "I wish we were still at the dorm watching movies and eating popcorn."

"Yeah, me too, but now you can see the sunrise like I was talking about," Adam attempted to make her smile. "Just try and enjoy this. And don't let Jo ruin it for you. Ignore her!"

"You don't understand how girls' think. I can't just ignore her," Courtney responded.

"Let's just go get some food. You're probably just hungry," Adam took Courtney's hand and they headed off to whatever food Goldberg, a.k.a. The Vacuum Cleaner, had left them.


	46. Chapter 46

Portman, Fulton, Russ, Jesse and Jo were all sitting around the campsite playing poker when Coach Bombay made his way to the group.

"Hey Dean, can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked motioning towards the table of food  
"Um… sure I'm out anyway," Portman said as he stood up and followed his coach.

"Look I know you and my daughter are dating and that she can more than handle herself but I want to make this clear. Just remember that if you hurt her in anyway that I have a gun and I am a damn good lawyer," Coach Bombay put on a fake smile to give off the impression that they were having a nice after church Sunday conversation.

"Okay, you have my word," Portman promised, a little thrown off by the current conversation. Bombay simply nodded and patted him on the shoulder before walking off.

At seven o'clock, Coach Bombay rallied his team around a circle of firewood and logs. "Team, we're going to have a good ol' fashioned bonfire. We're going to forget all the bad things that have happened and remember all the good," he stated, throwing a match into the circle of wood.

"Does that mean you want to forget me?" Jo quietly joked.

"That's right," Ms. MacKay agreed with Coach Bombay, "You all have done amazing things."

"Can I play my guitar?" Dwayne questioned excitedly. Coach Bombay nodded, smiling.

"If he plays, you sing," the coach grinned. A few of the people grumbled, but others smiled and laughed along.

Coach Bombay passed a bag of marshmallows around while Dwayne was retrieving his guitar. Each person took a few and a stick. Courtney let hers roast to a soft outer layer. Goldberg, however, was not so fortunate. He had three marshmallows on one stick and every single one of his caught on fire.

"Whoa!" Charlie shouted, shoving the stick into the ground trying to set the fire out.

"Charlie! You're messing up my marshmallows! I wanted to eat those!" He proclaimed disappointed.

Dwayne came running back, his guitar in hand, just in time. He swiftly sat down beside Adam and Courtney and started strumming the song "We Are the Champions" by Queen. Courtney sighed happily as she heard the familiar notes ring out through the trees. Courtney even saw that Jo was smiling and singing along to the song.

After Dwayne had repeated the chorus three times, Jo disappeared and came back with a shiny silver harmonica. She joined in with Dwayne in perfect harmony. There wasn't a single person who wasn't singing along to the songs that they were playing. The team had joined together as one. Not one person made fun of Averman's horrible singing or horrible B.O. from the toxic river.

Courtney had no problems getting to sleep that night and didn't even mind having to share a tent with Jo. She even said good-night to her, and got a reply, before her head hit the pillow and she fell asleep.

The sound of the bus running awoke Courtney in the morning. Connie was still asleep, but Jo wasn't in the tent. Courtney's first thought was that Jo was stealing the bus. She bolted up in her sleeping bag and jumped out of the tent. Coach Bombay was throwing stuff onto the bus in a hurry.

"We're late! Get all of your stuff up now!" He screamed to her.

Courtney hurriedly shook Connie awake and grabbed their stuff. They jumped as they heard the bus horn go off. Connie and Courtney ran outside of the tent in time to see hundreds of birds flocking from the trees. Jo waved from the window with a huge grin.

"Let's go! Coach Bombay demanded. Every tent was down but theirs. Adam and Charlie quickly folded it up and stowed it on the bus. Connie and Courtney were shoved onto the bus still in their pajamas.

The ride back to the dorm seemed to take forever. Coach Bombay was constantly looking down at his watch and frowning. It was quiet and still. Everyone was asleep, their heads bumping up against the windows with every turn they made.

"Ow," Courtney heard someone mumble. "Why'd you hit me?" It sounded like Fulton.

"I didn't hit you it's this damn bus we're in," someone who sounded like Portman mumbled.


	47. Chapter 47

After what seemed like an eternity, the bus finally drove up in front of the dorm. Coach Bombay rushed the team to bring their belongings down stairs so they could be loaded onto the bus. Courtney quickly and easily trudged her things down the stairs. Connie seemed to be having more trouble. Courtney couldn't figure out whether that was because she had five suitcases or because each one weighed four hundred pounds a piece.

"Let's go!" Jo rushed them. "Hurry up you sorry excuse for a hockey team. Get your fat butts down here now."

Courtney just about sprinted onto the bus and Goldberg was almost left behind. Portman pointed and laughed at him as the bus started to roll away without him, but Ken informed the driver and Goldberg climbed onto the bus.

Courtney was excited and anxious to get back home. The plane ride home was going to be fun. At least, that's what she thought. When they arrived at the airport, Coach Bombay prevented anyone from getting off of the bus.

"Okay, team. Before we get off the bus, I just wanted to tell you that you have assigned seats on the plane. Just listen and I'll let you know what they are. You three girls: you'll all be sitting together, so please get along," Coach Bombay instructed.

"WHAT?" Jo and Courtney screamed in unison. Everyone around them was grumbling over the decision. No one liked where they were seated. People tried to switch to be next to someone else, but Coach Bombay wouldn't allow it.

"Even though I'll be sitting up in first class with Ms. MacKay, the stewardess will know your assigned seats as I am going to give her the sheet," Bombay added.

The team pushed past him off of the bus. They gave him dirty looks as he smiled thinking about first class. The team ran through the airport lobby trying to get onto their plane in time. Goldberg was struggling to keep up and barely made it through the gates in time.

The seats were small and didn't give you much personal room. Courtney was surprised at how comfortable the seats were compared to how they looked. She hated that they'd been assigned seats, although she could see why. Jo, Connie, and Courtney were seated on the right side of the plane. On their left were two-seated rows.

Courtney claimed the isle seat, forcing a small smile to the boy next to her. She didn't quite feel like having Connie butt into her life. _Maybe she'll talk to Jo,_ Courtney hoped desperately. She was wrong. Courtney unloaded her CD player from her carry-on bag just as Jo was doing. She turned the volume up to its maximum. Connie continued talking to her. Courtney nodded, having no idea what she was saying.

Connie continued to talk to no one for at least an hour. Soon after, she got the drift and fell asleep. Courtney happily took off her headphones and glanced around the plane. It was full of people; some sleep, some cheerfully chatting with their neighbor. A stewardess walked by as Courtney's stomach started to rumble.

"Um, excuse me, what do you have to eat here?" Courtney asked curiously.

"Right now, we're running low. There's a boy up front who just about cleaned us out," she replied.

"Must be Goldberg," Courtney laughed. She wished she wear up there with them instead of being in the back of the plane. "Just give me whatever it is you have left. I've gotten used to that. Goldberg always eats everything."

Jo stirred next to her. "What? Oh Connie's asleep! Yes thank the Lord. I thought she would never shut up."

"Yeah, now I wish you had the knife for other reasons. We could cut her vocal cords," Courtney laughed mischievously.

"Naw, I'd say her hair, funnier," Jo laughed

Courtney waited for her mystery food to arrive. She was so hungry that she didn't care what it was that she was digesting. Jo stared longingly at the food on Courtney's plate.

"If you're hungry, order something," Courtney muttered.

Jo grabbed a bag of peanuts off of Courtney's plate." Thank you for your kind hospitality, Courtney."

"Whatever," Courtney snarled at her. She turned her food so that Jo was unable to reach it. She finished her meal in peace.

"Courtney, I just want you to know that I don't have anything against you," Jo said sincerely.

"D'accord," Courtney responded.

"I'm trying to say I'm sorry, Courtney. This isn't on my top ten easy things to do list," Jo cried frustrated.

"Desolee," Courtney retorted. She could see the anger rising in Jo's eyes. "Kidding. I said Okay and I'm sorry. I don't have anything against you either. You have saved my butt a couple of times. Then again, I wouldn't have been in those situations if it weren't for you. But I don't have anything against you."

"Yeah well that's the price you pay for hangin' around me, trouble always finds you. So we're even?" Jo asked with a smile.

"Even," Courtney repeated, returning the smile. Courtney stuck out her and they shook on it.

"Yeah! Finally, it took you the whole games, but you're finally not enemies!" Charlie rejoiced from his seat two ahead of them. Courtney shook her head and looked away.

She glanced at the boy next to her. He was her age with blond hair. He was staring at his game boy with interest. She didn't want to disturb him, but he put his game boy away almost as though he'd read her mind.

"Hi," He greeted her.

"Hi," She smiled back. Courtney glanced toward the front of the plane to see if Adam was watching, but he wasn't.

"I'm Dykota," the boy stated.

"My name is Courtney. So, where are you going?"

"Well, we just moved from LA to Minnesota. Minneapolis, Minnesota. I hear it's nice."

"That's where I'm from. See, my hockey team was in the Junior Goodwill Games and we're on our way back home right now. It's a great place," Courtney insisted.

Dykota smiled and nodded his head. "Maybe I'll be your neighbor!" He joked.

"Yeah. That's like a one in one hundredth chance, though."

"But it's a funny thought. So, how'd you guys do in the games?"

Courtney talked to Dykota until the very end of the flight. The pilot came over the speaker and announced that they were landing. Courtney reluctantly woke up Connie who had been quiet ever since she'd fallen asleep. They retrieved their entire carry-on luggage and prepared to get off the plane.

Courtney walked with Adam and Charlie through the gate. Each member of the team was telling the other good-bye. Courtney couldn't believe it when she saw people, like Russ and Jesse, crying. She hadn't realized that for some of them, they may not ever see each other again. Courtney held on tightly to Adam's hand until they reached the end gate. She spotted her parents and gave Adam one last hug and kiss before she rushed over to them.

"Hi, mom. Hi, dad," she didn't quite know how to greet them anymore. Courtney watched Dwayne walk around the exit aimlessly. "Dwayne!" she cried. He turned suddenly and smiled. He glided over to her.

"I'm going home with you," he stated proudly, with his country grin.

"You are?" She gaped. Dwayne nodded and hugged her until she couldn't breathe. "That's great!" She shouted as her mom and dad approached him nervously.

"Hello, Dwayne. Welcome home," her Dad alleged proudly.

Courtney's mom and dad waited until they had every piece of luggage and loaded it into the car. They bombarded Dwayne with questions of Texas and what it had been like. Already, Dwayne was calling them Mom and Dad. _You're gonna be just fine, Dwayne,_ Courtney thought happily, with her brother by her side.

She couldn't believe that she was already home so soon. It felt just like the day before that they were all boarding the plane. But everything would be different now. She would never look at situations in the same way. She didn't think the same way anymore. Being around people that were so diverse had changed her perspective, but for the better. She knew it. She knew she probably wouldn't be friends with some of the same people that she'd been friends with before, but she wasn't worried because she had her whole team that had been through all of it with her.


End file.
